A Family Affair
by crosseyedbutterfly
Summary: Roy's returned to Central permanently after the events of Shambala, but life isn't quite like it used to be and Riza's about to be saddled with a responsability she never thought she would have. CHAPTER 16 UP. Fini!
1. Chapter 1

This is a manga/anime/movie mix since I prefer some manga elements but it hasn't reached its conclusion yet. For clarity's sake, here are the important details that I can think of that have great influence on this piece. Smaller one's I'll let you pick up as you go. This will have lots of spoilers, consider yourself fairly warned.

Roy and Riza have their past together, with the array on Riza's back and Roy studying under her father.

Havoc is in a wheelchair from the battle with Lust and has been rehired by the military as a non-commissioned officer under Roy training new officers. Similar to Sheska's position.

The movie has occurred, and the conflict ended six months before, with both brothers disappearing to the other side.

This contains major spoilers for lots and lots of stuff that I'm not going to bother to pinpoint it all, so if you happen to want to find all the fun details from the series itself, don't read this.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist; if I did I wouldn't end it with the brothers being stuck on the other side of the gate when they had a girl waiting for them back home. Yeah, the OAV thing shows they eventually made it back but that doesn't make me feel any better about it.

Well, that's it, enjoy!

-0i0-

Roy had never been particularly fond of trains. The seats were only comfortable when compared with something like the floor unless one could afford the coveted private suites and the food was cheap, tasting like sawdust, or incredibly overpriced and of mediocre quality. Bringing your own meal was generally advised, or hopping off at one of the stops to grab a bite to go at one of the platform restaurants. Of course, those were hit and miss as well, so it was usually best just to pack a sandwich and bottle some water for the ride. Unless you traveling with a carriage full of military personal who had no qualms about mooching off your hard-earned edibles simply because they were too lazy to be as half as prepared as you were. Also, their government seemed to think 'military' was synonymous with 'cattle' because that's about how he felt when they were sent off on group expeditions, the least amount of money put forth for their travel expenditures as possible meaning they were packed in until one hardly had room to breathe.

Those complaints, of course, didn't even begin to cover the reasons he preferred other modes of travel when not on military business. There were the loud groups of talkative people that were always present when you were trying to sleep on the late night ride through, but when you were wide awake and traveling alone of course there is no one else to talk to. Sleeping on the train in general was ill-advised as it led to cricks in the neck and sore limbs unless you were traveling with someone who didn't mind being used as a pillow or could, once again, afford one of the private suites. Large families with small children were the worst, one would start to cry and then the rest would follow like clockwork. Four or five pairs of lungs working to produce the loudest scream at the same time were a surefire way to get a migraine real quick. And then there were the drunks, the salesmen, and the idiots who tried to rob the train he just happened to be riding (that never ended well for the robbers). All in all, there weren't many other things he could think of that he would take a train ride over.

Yet, there was currently no other place he would rather be.

A glance up from the alchemy book he was pretending to read showed Riza still staring out the window, looking unusually feminine with her hair down and wearing a comfortable blue skirt and white blouse with flats on her feet and a tan sweater draped over her shoulders. She hadn't moved since they'd seated themselves three hours before, and they had at least another day's worth of travel to go. He felt odd sitting there out of uniform as well, his blue pants replaced with nice black slacks and his trench coat folded beside him on the seat. His white, button down shirt remained the same, but it was the only remnant of his military life save the special gloves that waited in his right pocket as always with a lighter in the left.

"Hungry, sir?" Riza asked as the food cart came by, snapping the Brigadier General back into focus.

"No thank you," he replied calmly, watching as she purchased a mug of what was likely gritty coffee. The liquid was hot enough to throw wisps of steam off its top, though, and that seemed to be all she cared about as she wrapped her hands around it and sipped with a grimace. "Too strong?"

"Just a little," she admitted, turning back to the window and settling the mug in her lap carefully.

"Are you sure you want to go straight through?" he asked as he heard the conductor's voice over the speakers, announcing their next stop in fifteen minutes. "We can stop and sleep at one of the town's for the night, it'll be more comfortable then trying to sleep in these seats and we have plenty of time…"

"I'd rather go straight through, sir," she replied simply, on looking at him when he sighed loudly. "Sir?"

"Roy, not 'sir'," he replied, catching her masked gaze and holding it firmly. "We're not in uniform; we're not even traveling on military business. In fact, this is technically supposed to be a vacation for both of us once we figure out why you've been summoned to this town in the middle of nowhere. So no 'sir' or 'Colonel' or even 'Mr. Mustang'. My name is Roy, and you've certainly known me long enough to have the right to use it."

"Yes…Roy." She gave a ghost of a smile, and then turned back to the window once more.

"Are you cold?" he asked as he noticed her hands tightening around the mug, desperate for some continued interaction between them. It had been like this for six months now since his return. She had gladly given command back over to him; he'd been reinstated at Central for his heroic efforts and promoted to his current rank as a reward. Life had almost fallen into its previous pattern, though he was not quite as brash and arrogant as they remembered. Matured was perhaps the best term to use for it. He had politely turned down many women he had once known, wanting to worm their way back into his life, and seemed to apologetically at least try and stay focused on his paperwork in order to make his Lieutenant's life easier. The men welcomed him back with open arms, inviting him out to drink and celebrate often in his glorious return.

"No."

But no matter what he did, Hawkeye refused to return back to the way things had been after he'd killed Fuhrer Bradley King. She supported him as she had before that time of his recovery, gave him sound advice and did everything in her power to push him to the top. However, the distance they had maintained on both sides for the many years they had served together was back in place as though they had never crossed that boundary almost two years before. They had grown closer, more intimate with each other, in those few months of his recovery than in the entire decade plus they had worked and even lived together, something he sorely missed.

Roy had known he was wrong the day he left, the same day she directly disobeyed his orders for the first time. Ed was gone, Al returned to his body but unable to remember anything of the last four years, the Military practically neutered as the Parliament took over the country and the rot of the homunculi and the philosopher's stone laid bare to the public eye. He had allowed his foul thoughts to stew and suddenly doubted his plan, doubted that he was still working for the good of the people, told Hawkeye he had stepped from his chosen path and ordered her to shoot. She had refused.

So, thinking himself unable to stay and bear the weight of command with the sins of his past any longer, he had fled north, demoting himself to a lowly private and putting himself on boarder duty alone on the cold wastelands. She had stayed behind, picked up the pieces, and waited patiently for his return. With his mistake, however, there seemed to come with a price. He had her work, her guns, her mind, her trust, her loyalty, her life…but no longer could he have her heart. At least not the way he had before. She still cared for him; Havoc had been quick to inform him of what an idiot he had been to leave such a devoted woman alone for two whole years upon his return. But apparently she had drawn a stiff line as to how that caring could be shown.

"Are you sure?" he heard himself ask after staring at her for several minutes, noting the way she wrapped her arms about herself for warmth.

She nodded, and he stood up with a sigh, picking up the trench coat and dropping it over her shoulders before she could protest and muttering something about a walk before he strode away down the isle. She watched him leave, glancing down at the coat and running a hand along the smooth seams before she left it in place and went back to staring out the window.

-0i0-

Roy woke with a crick in his neck, just as he knew he would, somewhere in the early hours of the next morning. Sitting up, he stretched quietly so as to not disturb the few other passengers before looking at his subordinate and finding her in the same position he had left her when he fell asleep the night before. Thankfully, the coat was still around her shoulders, but he doubted she had moved all night.

"Have you slept at all?" he asked in a low whisper, reaching out to put a hand on her knee to get her attention. She started at the unexpected touch, but sighed when she realized who it was and slowly shook her head.

"No s…Roy."

"Is everything alright?"

She stayed silent, giving an enigmatic shrug as she looked down at her laced fingers.

"Riza?"

"The town I've been summoned to," she explained carefully, pulling the letter out of her purse. "The name was familiar, I've been trying to place it since yesterday and I'm almost certain now it's the place my mother's family came from but I don't know for sure…"

"You haven't heard from them in years though, Hawkeye-sensei wouldn't even hear of them being mentioned in the house while I lived there," Roy said slowly, frowning as one hand rubbed the sore spot on his neck. "When was the last time you saw them?"

"Right after mother died, they came to visit us a few times," she murmured distantly, eyes focused out the window once more. "They saw the array on accident…it was when he first started working on it. Mother's oldest brother was so angry; he tried to take me away. I didn't understand, at the time, what was going on, but in the end I stayed with father and we never heard from them again."

"It could be someone in the family died, and you need to come claim something that was left to you," Roy offered in an attempt to be helpful, watching as she frowned with a slow shake of her head.

"We were cut off from the inheritance before mother died; they never approved of my father, apparently, and decided someone married to a 'wealthy alchemist' didn't need the material possessions of her family." She snorted to herself at that thought, and while the Hawkeye family had been far from poor Roy had to admit they hadn't exactly lived lives of luxury either. "He never went with us to visit, that I can remember, and the only thing mom received when grandmother died was a box of photos and an old quilt. There has been no word from them since, and I can think of nothing they would wish to leave me to over a closer relative."

Roy steepled his hands thoughtfully. "So if they want or need you for something, you honestly don't know what it would be for."

"Precisely."

"Do you think…" He paused, rubbing a hand over his chin and feeling the stubble starting to form there with a grimace. "They know about the array, correct? You don't think…?"

"No, there was little more than the outer circle done at that point, only the youngest brother actually had any talent for alchemy and I doubt any of them knew enough about the research to understand what he was doing." She shook her head firmly, casting aside his theory not cruelly but with a touch of finality. "The final design wasn't even written out on paper until after the incident, there is no one besides you still alive who has ever seen the full extent of it…no, my father's alchemy has nothing to do with it."

They both unthinkingly braced themselves as the train began to brake, the scenery going from a colorful blur of fields and farms to the outskirts of a small town where a rather crowded platform awaited them.

"I'll get breakfast," he offered, getting up to disembark with the other passengers during their ten minute stop as she nodded and once more turned back to the window. Absorbed in her thoughts, it wasn't until someone tapped her on the shoulder that she looked up to see an elderly couple standing beside their seats.

"Are those taken?" the man asked as he pointed to the two spaces across from her, a quick glance around proving everywhere else was full.

"Ah, no," she replied, quickly moving Roy's things to the empty seat beside her and just settling back in when the alchemist appeared juggling a tall mug full of something hot and two packages wrapped in tinfoil. He quickly realized and understood the situation, and handing her the mug took the seat next to her without comment.

"I hope you don't mind sharing, I could only carry one," he said as he motioned towards the cup, her taking a sip to find it was black coffee that was just right.

"No, this is fine," she said as she handed it back, unwrapping the tinfoil to find a flat bread of some sort wrapped around itself.

"There's cheese and sausage in the middle," he explained, taking a bite out of his own to show her. "It's a local favorite, I think. Pretty good, actually."

She tentatively nibbled off a corner, finding his assessment fairly accurate and proceeded to neatly consume half of it before noticing Roy watching her furtively. "Do you want the rest?" she offered, hiding a small smile as he licked his lips hungrily before shaking his head and looking away.

"I'm fine," he replied, knowing she was probably just as hungry as he was with dinner having been hours ago and rather less substantial that he was used to. He pulled out the book from before, firmly keeping his attention on it as he felt her gaze on him for a few more seconds before she turned back to her meal. The meat wrap was gone a few moments later, and as they passed the coffee back and forth between them Roy stretched out his arms over the back of the seat in an attempt to relieve the strain of sleeping upright in his shoulders and neck. "I'm sore," was all he said when Riza gave him a startled glance, his forearm barely grazing her back. She frowned, brows knitting together as she glanced down.

"My apologies, sir, if that is my fault, you should have told me we needed to stop if you knew sleeping the train would not agree with you," she replied carefully, voice just low enough that it reached only his ears as the elderly couple across from them chatted animatedly.

"Roy."

"Sir?"

"My name is Roy, we discussed this last night, Riza," he sighed, laying his head back against the seat. "No uniform, no formalities, got it?"

"Yes…Roy."

"Good."

A comfortable silence fell between them, the roll of the train hypnotically steady as he stared at the ceiling above and tried remember why he had agreed to go all the way out to the middle of nowhere again. Apparently his Lieutenant was as susceptible to the relaxed atmosphere as he, and the caffeine losing the battle against her exhaustion; for he sat up as he felt her slowly lean against him. Shifting as her head lolled on his shoulder and hardly surprised as he remembered she hadn't slept in over 24 hours, he adjusted the coat so it covered her form more securely and settled himself for a long ride.

-0i0-

Riza woke as her middle protested its lack of nourishment loudly, stifling a yawn with her right hand when it occurred to her that her left was trapped between herself and the very warm something that she was leaning against. Very carefully moving when the warm something remained very still, she detached herself from what she quickly identified as her superior asleep with his arms still stretched out and his feet resting on the now-empty bench across from them. A wrapped package that looked like food lay in a basket at his feet with a few bottles of water and a couple of apples, and as she bent over to pick it up he said, "Its tuna sandwiches, the old people didn't need them and offered them before they got off. It was free, so why say no?"

Unwrapping the brown paper package, she confirmed his story and quickly bit into one, finding it still fresh enough to be good as she worked to quiet her demanding stomach. He retracted his arms, sighing loudly as he ran a hand through his hair before picking out a sandwich as well.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked amicably, keeping more focused on his food then on her as if he sensed her sudden discomfort with the previous situation.

"Yes, thank you, you?" she replied, refusing to look at him as she picked up another half of a sandwich and a faint tinge of pink settled across her cheeks.

"Well enough, we've only an hour before we reach the station," he replied as he checked his state alchemist watch discreetly. "We're actually running ahead of schedule, two of the stops no one got on or off so we just kept on going after a few minutes."

"That's pretty common the farther out you get, the smaller the town the less likely people are trying to leave or arrive," she replied softly, wiping her mouth primly as she finished the last of her meal and sat back feeling much better.

"What do you think the men are doing without us there?" he asked with a soft smirk glancing down at her to find her chuckling softly.

"Lazing about, no doubt," she replied, tucking a stray stand of blonde behind her ear. "It will take a week after we get back to break them of all the bad habits they'll form while we're gone."

"While you're gone, you mean." He smiled when she looked at him questioningly. "If I'd stayed, I'm sure their bad habits would be even worse."

She smirked slightly. "Perhaps, you are still rather famous for your procrastination skills and tactics."

Roy put his hand to his chin, almost striking a pose. "I do try…"

Riza rolled her eyes, listening as he began to describe the latest bet Havoc had introduced right before he left. He personally had twenty riding on Fuery being the first to be able to compliment a particularly touchy secretary without getting slapped, but that was only because his youngest subordinate still had enough baby fat to make him look innocent enough to get away with it. Hopefully he'd return to a wad of cash and not a smirking Havoc. Absently she scolded him for supporting their juvenile and occasionally disruptive behaviors, and he laughed it aside saying the men needed to have their fun.

She seemed willing to continue to listen, so he went on to an anecdote about Elysia's first crush at school and how the little boy had kissed her cheek on Valentine 's Day that then fell into a short discussion on the advantages of the young girl and her mother's new home. Riza seemed to appreciate the fact that it was so close to her apartment, making it easier to come over on the evenings Gracia asked her to sit, while Roy declaimed its small yard when compared to the large one they had enjoyed before. The size fit them well since Gracia was not in the mood to try and remarry and their family wouldn't be growing any time soon, but Riza was forced to agree the neighborhood wasn't the best. If it weren't for the fact her, Breda, Fuery and Falman all lived within five minutes walking distance and she knew to call them immediately if there was trouble they probably would have insisted she find a better area to live in.

The resulting topics of whether the military housing on site or off site was better and whether it was worth it when single to house outside of the military offerings was put on hold as their station was called, the last on the line before the train would turn around and return the way it came. Rising, bags and coats were collected, Riza's purse with her gun inside slung over one shoulder as they departed and found the platform completely empty save themselves and the old man running the ticket booth off to one side.

"Do you want to find a place to stay or go see the Governor first?" Roy asked as he eyed the dirt roads and wood shingled buildings, none of them over three stories high. It was a far cry from Central, or any regular city for that matter.

"Lets get rooms first, I'd rather not drag my bags around everywhere we go," she replied curtly, leading the way to an old Inn where they quickly procured two rooms for the night and put their things away. Baggage free they left, only Riza's purse and Roy's coat accompanying them along the way. It was warm now, but it would get chilly when the sun set and there was no telling where they would be going or how long it would take.

Pulling the letter out of her purse, together they entered the sole government building other than the military police station and were ushered into a small office with a single cluttered desk and shelves lining the walls with books while the secretary fetched the Governor. He was an old man, but he walked tall despite the cane he used to navigate the room.

"I understand you wished to see me," he said as he sat down carefully, motioning for them to take the seats across from him. Complying, Riza wordlessly handed him the letter and he glanced over the typed words before nodding abruptly. "Ah…right. You're probably wondering why we need you here."

"Yes," Riza replied calmly, waiting for him to continue.

"There was a plague a short while ago," the old man explained as he rose, scribbling down a note that he handed to the secretary on his way out the door. Motioning for them to follow, he explained that this disease had swept through their community during the winter when the rail lines were often closed due to the snow and ice. They were far enough North that the winter was long and cruel, and impossible to travel through at its worst. The doctor had been one of the first to go, and with him a large portion of the community. Central, of course, sent help as soon as they were aware of the town's plight, but by then it was too late for many. Most of her mother's family was one of those many.

At the graveyard he led them to a particular corner, pointing out the headstones marking her grandmother's second husband, her mother's two siblings and three half siblings along with their husbands, wives, and children. He had lived in that town his whole life, and had been friends with all of them. At each marker Riza paused, running a hand along the name before moving on to the next. Some of them she hadn't seen in nearly twenty years, and most of the people she had never even met, for they had not married into the family until after their break with her aunts and uncles. Cousins born after that time, and even a second cousin or two taken as mere toddlers and babes, it was a very sad and solemn affair.

Eventually, they reached the entrance once more, the old man pausing there as he spotted something in the distance.

"I still don't understand why my presence is required," Riza said, bringing his attention back to her as she stared at the graves. "While I am sad for their passing and understand it must have been hard to lose such good friends, I hardly knew these people. I have had no contact with them since I was a small girl. A letter would have sufficed would you have wished to inform me of the situation."

"Unfortunately, there is a matter of settling their affairs," the Governor explained as he rubbed his chin, bringing out a pipe to chew on the end thoughtfully.

"I very much doubt I was included in their wills, if they had ones written up at all," she replied, turning to look at him with a frown. "And even if they didn't, I have no need of their things and money. If you lost as many people as you say you have, I'm sure their land and money could be put to use helping the town rebuild itself…"

"Unfortunately, in settling their affairs it is not so much an issue of what they left behind," he coughed as the figures he'd been watching in the distance became clear, an older woman flanked on either side by a child. "So much as who."

-0i0-

First chapter, whoo!! Please review, it makes my day, really. This is mostly already written, I will just be revising chapters as I go. I had mono over Christmas, and it gave me a lot of time to write since I wasn't good for much else, that's the only reason this story is here at all. Hope to hear from you, and with luck chapter two won't be long in coming.

CB


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two, here for your entertainment, and within a reasonable length of time if I do say so myself. Thank you to the many of you who reviewed, it was much appreciated!

-0i0-

Roy felt as lost as Riza looked, both sitting across from a little five year old blonde girl who could easily have passed as the sharp-shooter's daughter as they shared the same eyes in the worn but warm sitting room at the Governor's house. The Governor himself was out chasing down the boy who had run the moment the pair had come into view, disappearing into the surrounding woods at a sprint. His wife bustled about in the kitchen just around the corner, leaving them alone with the girl for the time being. For some reason, the older couple assumed their 'family tie' would come to light and Riza would accept the children with open arms and they would love her as they had their own mother in return. Roy could see that it would not be quite that easy.

The little girl refused to look up at them, staring down at her hands that cradled a worn wooden duck with wheels for feet. It was one of the toys he recognized from his childhood, a string usually tied to its neck one could walk around with it following you for hours. Homemade by the looks of it, he wondered how it had come to be so treasured as her soft fingers ran from the head to the tail again and again.

"May I ask your name?" Riza inquired softly when it seemed the silence became too much for her. The little girl paused, looking up slowly and meeting the Lieutenant's eyes once before her gaze quickly dropped back to her hands.

"Beth. Elizabeth Herndon."

Her voice was barely above a whisper, and it broke Roy's heart as he recognized the look in her eyes. Numb to the core, and unable to even cry though the heart was torn in two, it was the look he had seen in his own eyes after the Ishabal war, the look in Gracia's eyes with the death of Maes, and the look in Alphonse's eyes when he was told his brother could not be found. She was too young for that, he thought as she looked up again, studying them through dull eyes, too young for that kind of pain and loss. But that didn't change the past.

"Are you going to take me with you?" the little girl asked, suddenly staring at Riza as her thumb continued to run over the wooden duck.

"Do you want to come with me?" Riza replied, her voice as gentle as he had ever heard it though with an underlying current of uncertainty.

Beth blinked, her eyes going back to the block as she spoke with tiredness beyond her few years. "I…want to forget."

Roy was surprised at how quickly Riza was able to move to the girl, gently bringing the small face up to meet her steady gaze as she knelt before her. "You will never forget, can never forget," she spoke with the sincerity of one who understood. "But eventually you can move on."

Beth's face crumpled as something she saw in his subordinate's eyes reached her torn heart, the tears coming fast and silent as she buried her head in Riza's shoulder and clung to her neck much like the drowning did a life preserver. Cradling the child awkwardly, she moved so she was sitting on the couch with the girl in her lap as she murmured soothingly in her ear and rubbed her back. The Governor's wife glanced in once, and seemed to find approval in what she saw before leaving them alone once more.

Getting up quietly, he slipped into the kitchen as he found himself uncomfortable in a situation where his presence wasn't necessary. Especially one involving small children in general.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked as he motioned to the dinner preparations, immediately getting a bowl and some vegetables shoved in his hands with a cutting board and a knife.

"Your wife is doing a very good job, I'm glad to see someone has finally gotten through to that poor dear," the Governor's wife commented as she passed him to reach the stove, pulling a pan off burner before she noticed his startled gaze. "Oh, are you not married yet? My apologies for assuming too much, but you are both rather old to be single still…"

"We are not together at all," Roy explained quickly, focusing on the vegetables as he willed his hands to be steady despite the way his ears burned. "We are co-workers, and have been friends for years, but that is all."

"Oh, then she has another man…?"

"Riza Hawkeye has not had a steady male companion of that nature in her life for quite some time," he replied stiffly, displeased to be reminded of the wall that had been rebuilt between them. "I agreed to travel with her per her grandfather's request."

"Ah, an old friend of the family, then, I can understand that…"

"We're back, dear!"

The Governor slowly opened the front door that was visible down the hall, a lanky looking farmer with a bow slung over his shoulder following behind with a disgruntled boy of 10 or under his right arm. Dumping the scowling load to the floor, he tipped his head to the Governor and got quiet thanks in return before heading out the door again and closing it firmly behind him.

"That was hardly the way to behave when these good folks have traveled all the way out here from Central just to see you," the Governor huffed as he hauled the boy to his feet, brushing him off in a business-like way before the lad managed to pull away and finished straightening his overalls and patched shirt himself.

"Who cares, where's Beth, is she ok?"

"Straighten up and stop grumbling! Your sister is fine; she's just in the other room."

Still glaring with the corners of his mouth pulled in a fierce snarl, he made the passage to the kitchen as difficult as he possibly could for the old man as he was dragged along by his collar without knocking them both over. Roy was getting rather fed up with his performance, the Governor deserved more respect than that, and was seconds away from hauling the boy upright by his ear and giving him a good dressing down when the young man noticed him for the first time and stopped to stare.

Roy blinked as the lad whipped out a book from his back pocket, leafing through the pages before glancing back at him as if in confirmation. Pointing at him accusingly, he cried, "I know you even with the eye patch, you're Roy Mustang! The Flame Alchemist!"

"Ah…I am," Roy replied, setting the knife down carefully as he studied the boy more closely, finding the same red-brown eyes as his sister but with black hair that hung in his eyes almost long enough to tie in a tail. "Have we met?"

"No, you're in the 'Alchemist's Changing the World' book I got from school," the boy replied, showing him the page with his picture (it was from when he still had both eyes) with a very sparse biography below it. "Are you really an Ishabal war hero? Can you show me your flame? Or your gloves? What happened to your eye? I bet you lost it saving all kinds of people's lives, right? I want to be an alchemist too; maybe you could teach me some things!"

"Enough, lad, you can pester the man later, its time we sat down to eat and discussed your future with your cousin," the Governor interrupted, though he cast Roy an appraising look as his wife suddenly frowned. "Where is she and the girl?"

"I'll get them," Roy offered, backtracking to the sitting room and finding an exhausted looking Riza holding the little girl, now asleep, in her lap. "Its time to eat, they want to talk to you," he told her quietly, helping her stand as she carefully cradled the small girl to her chest. "The boy's a hellion, he might be hard to handle," he warned her absently as they made their way back to the others.

"He can't be much more difficult than the other boys," she replied, and he smiled as he recognized the reference back to their subordinates.

"I suppose."

The Governor's wife took the girl the moment they came into view, depositing her in what they assumed was a bedroom off to the side (after assuring the boy that she was just asleep) before shooing them all to the table and their seats. The Governor, of course, was at the head, Roy across from his wife and Riza next to him facing the boy. The food was passed around, drinks poured, and though some small talk was generated as they praised the food and its maker for it was very tasty the Governor soon brought things back to the important topic at hand.

"They have no other family," he said without preamble, watching Riza closely as she sipped her tea. "That's why we went through the trouble of tracking you down. And while having someone take them in would normally not be a problem and you would be left untroubled I'm afraid the plague has left us with empty hearts and little enough care to go around. There is a good bit of money to be had from the things their family has left behind, but I should hope you do not base your decision on the profit there is to be made. I'm not asking you to decide tonight, though an answer before you leave would be preferable if you're planning on coming back for them. Children are not to be taken lightly, and I would understand if preparations would need to be made before you could accept them into your care."

"I understand," she replied, setting the cup down and meeting his gaze steadily though her eyes gave none of her true feelings away. "I will have an answer for you by tomorrow morning."

"What if I don't want to go with her?" the boy stuck in, sneering at her from his seat until the Governor's wife nudged him sternly. Settling for a contained glower, Riza met his gaze without as much as a flinch.

"What is your name?" she asked simply, raising her brows slightly when he snorted rudely.

"Zeke," he replied in as bored a manner as he could, looking away to toy with the meat on his plate with a fork.

"Ezekiel," the Governor corrected quickly. "Ezekiel Herndon."

"Zeke, where will you go if you don't come with me?" she asked, the Governor watching curiously as the boy unconsciously responded to her authoritative tone.

"Dunno, we'll probably stay with them, maybe another family if a place opens up," he replied with a shrug.

"Orphans are generally passed around a community until no one can afford or want to keep them. If times are hard, they'll be sent to an Orphanage as wards of the state until they come of age to leave and often times if there is no will all their possessions and means will be seized as well as payment for raising them. That means you would have to wait six or seven years from the time you would be sent out until you could see your sister again, unless you're lucky enough to be sent to the same children's home to begin with; and you will have next to nothing when it occurs," she explained in the same voice she used when explaining to Havoc why it was a bad idea to put Hayate under Breda's desk. "I heard you say you wanted to become an alchemist, a difficult task for any person, even more so when you have nothing to your name. Studying is impossible without books and the right education. I live in Central, work in the Military offices there, and am friends with State Alchemists."

"I thought you hadn't decided yet," he mumbled, pouting as he averted his gaze.

"I haven't," she replied quietly. "But considering your position if you are truly serious about your dream and taking care of your sister it may be in your best interest not to persuade me to leave you to the mercy of the people of this town. Your parents' money is of no concern to me, nor is the land or their possessions, what I am interested in is what is best for you and your sister."

"I didn't ask for you to try and choose what's best for me, I didn't ask for other people to take over my life, and I didn't ask for my parents to die," he replied, almost yelling the last part as he jumped to his feet. Storming out of the room, he paused only to throw her a final glare before disappearing up the stairs and out of sight.

"He is…very angry," the old man sighed as he rubbed his chin slowly, eyeing the visitors from the corners of his vision. "They were away when the worst of it struck, visiting friends that live on a farm just outside the village. The friends would have probably taken them in had they not gained three extra mouths of their own, cousins belonging to an aunt and uncle that were also taken by the plague. These are hard times for our people."

"He believes he could have changed something had he been there," Riza murmured quietly. "Survivor's guilt."

"I believe you are a respectable woman who will do well by them if you choose to do so," the Governor's wife interjected politely. "But I am a little concerned at the possibility of a lack of constant male presence in their lives. Being single is nothing to be ashamed of, but having only one parental figure can be hard on a child…"

"I don't think that'll be a problem, our friends would be delighted to have a niece and nephew to spoil all they like, and you won't find finer men in all of Amestris," Roy cut in firmly, nodding when Riza gave him an appreciative glance. "They may not have a father, but several uncles and an extra aunt or two certainly can't be too far off the mark."

"And my grandfather is there at Central as well," Riza added after a moment's thought. "I am sure he and my grandmother would be pleased to welcome them into the family, should they come with me."

"Then allow me to voice my other concern, you are clearly a State Alchemist if you are Roy Mustang indeed, and you mentioned that you were co-workers. To what extent are you involved in the military and what is the likelihood you may return home one day in a box rather than on your feet?"

"I am a First Lieutenant, and I am Brigadier General Mustang's body guard and aide based upon my abilities with firearms and in hand to hand combat and skills in organization and management," Riza explained slowly, glancing at Roy as she wondered how much she should reveal. "The last dangerous incident I was included in was the attack on Central and Lior, when the entire military was deployed to defend the city. That was six months ago."

"Lieutenant Hawkeye's job has gotten far less dangerous with my last promotion," Roy stepped in as she hesitated to say more. "Our fieldwork has been curtailed to an absolute minimum, and neither of us will be called back into active duty unless another war breaks out. Even then, our skills are too valuable to be thrown away carelessly. Seeing as Parliament is in the process of making treaties with everyone and their mother, I very much doubt we shall see another conflict the size of the Ishabal again for many years, hopefully the peace will hold for at least our lifetime."

"Then you have time to raise two children?"

"I have room in my life and my home," she replied simply, looking down at her hands once again. "I am just not yet convinced myself that I am the best caretaker for these children."

"We would keep them ourselves, were we in our younger years," the Governor sighed, rubbing a hand along his wrist. "But even now we are hard pressed to keep up with them, and as you can see they have not responded well to us since their parent's funeral."

"Beth just sat there when they explained what had happened to her mother and father, blinked, and got up and left the room," his wife added quietly. "Tonight was the first time I saw her cry since that day, and it has been over a month."

"I think it would be best if we left now," Riza said slowly as she rose to her feet, though her food was still mostly untouched and Roy had barely had time to make a dent in his. "I need some time to think. What time may we return in the morning?"

"We rise with the sun here, whenever you want to drop by is fine," the Governor replied, getting up and showing them to the door. "Thank you for considering this, Miss Hawkeye, it is greatly appreciated…"

"I will act according to what is best for the children," she replied simply. "Good night, Governor. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Anytime."

Roy bid them goodnight as well before following his subordinate into the street, their Inn a good ways down the lane as the house was just outside of town. The sun had set some time before but the moon rose full and without a cloud in the sky they could easily make their way along the dirt roads.

"You've already decided," he accused her teasingly as he dropped his coat over her shoulders, ignoring her protest as they walked side by side.

"I've decided they cannot stay here," she replied quickly. "The government means well, but orphanages are never the best place for the majority of children and this town will likely not keep them for long with the way the boy is acting. However, whether they belong with me or another is yet to be seen."

"Who else could you send them to?" he asked curiously.

"If Hughes were still alive, I wouldn't hesitate to offer them the money and the children. He had a way with young ones, I believe he could have reached the boy with ease," she murmured more to herself than he as she ticked names off her on her fingers. "However, I could never ask Gracia alone to undertake such a task. The boy is interested in alchemy, which puts the Elric's Teacher in mind as she had a soft spot for those without parents, but she passed away recently and even before that she was sick for quite some time. Pinako, also, but she isn't exactly young and it might be more cruelty than kindness to ask her to watch another who might give his life to alchemy. Louis Armstrong may no longer be in the military, but while he has a heart of gold for 'strays' he is…unlikely to impress the boy with his odd ways."

He nodded. "And if they stayed with you?"

"The girl needs someone who understands, I can help her there. I'm sure I can work out something with Gracia to watch her during the day until she is old enough to start school," she sighed, staring off into the distance as her mind ran down several paths at once. "The boy, though…he is a tough one, and what he needs is a strong male he can look up to. Being ten is not easy to begin with, it is when boys start down the path of becoming men, but to lose your father at this time must be devastating."

"He's being pushed into growing up too soon, and he's fighting it with everything he's got," Roy added, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I suppose I don't have a choice then."

She frowned in confusion, pausing in the middle of the road to look at him. "Sir?"

He stopped as well with a cheeky grin. "Roy."

She rolled her eyes, but gave in. "Roy?"

"The boy needs a man in his life, I can be that man until either a replacement is found or he no longer needs me as such," he explained, watching as her frown turned into disbelief, then concern.

"Sir-"

"Roy."

"Roy, are you sure you wish to commit yourself to a boy that is not even related to you in any way, shape, or form? If you really are to become the man in his life, you will need to always be there for him." She paused, glancing up at him with a guarded look. "The men and I, we can stand having you disappear for years a time, to do that to this boy would be inhuman."

"Riza, I'm not going anywhere," he said so sincerely she was almost forced to believe him. Almost. "I understand what I'm getting myself into. Even if you or I find someone else to share our lives with, I will still be there for the boy and his sister and you. I promise."

"You don't need to worry about me, it's the children that will need the looking after," she sighed as she started back down the road. "I suppose I should call Central and begin making arrangements. My apartment is not big enough for the three of us, I'll need to find a school for Zeke, and I will need to call Gracia about arrangements for dropping Beth off for the day…"

"Actually, I was already thinking about some of that," Roy admitted, having the grace to look a bit sheepish when she glanced at him surprise. "Did you know the other half of the duplex Gracia lives in just opened up last week…?"

-0i0-

Three days later found Roy going through yet another room with Riza, Beth clinging to his subordinate's back as she had virtually become the sharp shooter's shadow and Zeke grumbling in the background. While the Governor had been delighted with the situation, and was more than willing to help them in any way possible, they had been poorly prepared for the massive amount of work that followed.

The duplex was secured that very first day after a few quick phone calls, a delighted Gracia agreeing to help out as she could and the men setting up a schedule to go pick up the boxes as they arrived at the station. As they moved from room to room in the house everything in it was labeled as 'keep', 'discard' or 'sell' depending on a few key factors. All of the children's things were boxed first, everything but enough clothes to last the week and a few toys to keep them occupied were sent ahead to their new home along with their furniture for their new rooms. Photos, family keepsakes, and almost anything the children wanted to save was packed as well, the boxes marked 'Duplex' or 'Storage' depending in which they were to be delivered to first. Unfortunately, because the children had not only inherited their parent's house but that of their aunts, uncles and grandparents the work they originally had cut out for them was increased by four fold. Thankfully, not every family had owned its own house or they might have been there for weeks.

The silver lining came in the fact that the duplex had more than twice the space of Riza's current military apartment, and she hardly owned enough furniture to fill it. With the children giving her suggestions along the way, they picked out another couch, some tables and chairs, a few floor rugs and other small things that would go in their new home. While it was hard, especially for Zeke, to say what would stay and what would go, it seemed to comfort the pair knowing some of their home would be going with them.

Deciding they could not possibly stay long enough to sell everything, including the land and houses, Riza struck a bargain with the Governor. He would sell everything for them, and then send her money along with whatever the families already had stored in the bank after keeping a small percentage for himself for his troubles. Half the money sent to her she would set aside in two equal savings accounts, their inheritance when they reached the proper age, the other half she would use to pay for their current living expenses as the need arose.

"So, I guess we're stuck with you," said Zeke one evening as they ate dinner at the one restaurant in town, Roy treating them for having worked hard that day. He had fought against it at first, even tried the running away tactic again only to be dragged back by the same farmer, but slowly he seemed to accept the fact that there was nothing he could do about it. The fact that she was friends with Roy Mustang, the famous Flame alchemist, certainly helped but he was far from pleased. That displeasure came in the form of as much rude behavior and snide comments he thought he could get away with. Riza, of course, took it in stride and only outright corrected him beyond her highly effective disapproving looks that he'd already come to hate when he crossed certain boundaries. "What are we supposed to call you? Miss Hawkeye?"

"We're cousins, but somehow the age difference makes even that a bit strange," she mused aloud. "What did you call your other older cousins?"

"Aunt Mary and Uncle Jonstan," Beth said from her seat, one of the few things she'd said all night long.

"Then you may call me Aunt Riza," their warden replied, giving a dry smile as she did.

"Can we call you Uncle Roy?" he asked the Flame Alchemist, obviously surprised when the man immediately agreed.

"Certainly, in fact you'll be gaining several uncles upon our arrival," Roy replied lightly. "And an aunt or two, I suppose. Did I tell you, Riza, that Falman said the Fuhrer has assigned us at least four new subordinates? There might be some others, but I was given the impression they were more for field than office work."

"Really, s-…Roy? Who?"

"Brosh and Ross, Armstrong's old helpers before he went civilian," he explained. "A new alchemist that just passed this year's exams, apparently they thought I needed another one with the Elric brothers gone, and a Private fresh from the Academy for us to break in as far as office work goes. I imagine we shall have our work cut out of us, hm?"

She shook her head, but laughed quietly. "I imagine so."

"That's right, you're military, too," Zeke broke in, smirking. "What are you, a pencil pusher?"

"She's my aide," Roy replied with a touch of pride. "And the best there is to be had among her peers."

The boy snerked quietly. "For what, her skills at planning meeting times? Or her short hand notes?" He sat up a little straighter, unintentionally assuming the stance his father would take when lecturing him at home before his death. "Women don't belong in the military, they might be useful with the paperwork but when it comes to a fight they're useless. That's why it's only the men that go to war; women would just get in the way."

Riza quickly put a hand on Roy's arm, silencing his immediate protest. "Ezekiel," she said as she rose to her feet. "I would reconsider those words before you spoke their like again. They could become…dangerous in the future. Especially in Central."

"I don't get it," he told Roy as the alchemist asked for their check, Beth following Riza out the door presumably back to the house to finish what they could before it got too dark. "What I said was true, right?"

"You are very lucky you are just a boy," Roy explained simply as he handed over the required bills and left and generous tip on the table. "She's more willing to forgive your ignorance with your youth."

"What do you mean??" The boy was tempted to throw a fit when his question was ignored, assuming he was meant to figure it out by himself though he wasn't sure where he'd gone wrong in the first place. Women weren't fighters, that's what his father had drilled into him once his sister was born. He was to protect Beth with his life, because Beth would never be able to protect herself. That's why men were stronger than women, and why wives always obeyed their husbands. It's just the way life was.

-0i0-

Another day passed, sunset finding Roy and Riza bidding the children goodnight for the last time at the Governor's house before turning in at their rented rooms.

"I called Winry today," Roy commented as they walked together down the road towards the Inn. "Her usual trip to Central is sometime this next week. We have a few more days before our vacation time is spent, why not spend part of it in Risembol?"

"What did Winry think of that?" Riza replied, glancing at her superior as they ambled along. "I imagine she would still want to go see Gracia and Elyasia…"

"If we leave in the morning as we plan to, we can make it to Risembol around dinner time," he said as he pulled a train schedule out of his pocket. "There's a chance we'll miss the change-over here if our train is more than ten minutes late, but that only sets us back an hour or so. Winry said she was planning on leaving in three days; she could travel there with us and offered to help you settle things while she's there. I know you planned on taking an extra week off to unpack and arrange the duplex how you wanted it but an extra hand could probably help move things along…"

"That puts us back in Central on a Thursday, Friday I could pack up what little there is in my apartment and be ready to move on Saturday," she mused, nodding to herself. "Very well, as long as Mrs. Rockabell doesn't mind the extra company."

"Pinako said we were welcome to visit, and a few days rest would do us all some good," he chuckled lightly. "Especially you, you haven't stopped worrying since you said 'yes'. I don't see why, though, you've done just fine raising Hayate."

"They're children, Roy, not pets," she grumped, scowling slightly though she knew he was right. "I'm not worrying; I'm just…concerned that I may not be the best choice."

"Riza, you've kept me and my men in an obedient line for years," Roy pointed out as he stopped her outside the building. "And it's not just a reign of terror, either. You managed to train Breda out of his loud snacking habits, teaching him a semblance of manners. Havoc would probably have fewer dates than he actually has if you weren't slowly coaching him into something resembling a gentleman even if he hasn't realized it yet. You even managed to break me to paperwork, even if I do still hate it, and didn't earn a reputation as my 'babysitter' by doing nothing. I may be the leader of our group, and our ideals are what hold us together, but you're our heart. And, damn it, if that doesn't qualify you to raise two kids, I don't know what does."

She cleared her throat, trying desperately to hide her blush and failing miserably. "Ah, sir…"

"Roy."

"I'm not sure having the capacity to boss around grown men and force them to act like civilized beings is a qualification for parenting," she plowed on quickly, though she refused to meet his gaze. "But I still thank you for your faith in me."

He smiled softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "How can I do any less for one who has never lost faith in me?"

"Ah, thank you…" She hesitated before adding quickly. "G-goodnight, s-…Roy."

He stepped back, recognizing the glint of panic in her eyes from him overstepping his bounds. "Goodnight, Riza."

She disappeared inside, leaving him alone in the dark to ponder a bit. He knew what he wanted; he had tasted it once upon a time in what sometimes felt like a dream. His only question was did she want it as well?

-0i0-

And that is chapter 2. Please review, it's like giving a junkie crack except without the nasty side effects. All replies to reviews can be found below!

Tiramisu of Impending Doom Might I just say that's an excellent name? I love the scene with Riza sleeping on Roy too :) thanks for the review, I hope you liked part two!

LoonyBin08: Thanks for the review, hope you liked part two!

Mrs. Jean Grey-Summers: Thanks for the review, hope you liked part two!

Bar-Ohki: Of course Roy's gonna be driven up the wall, it's almost mandatory, right? Thanks for the review, hope you liked part two!

Azilie: Glad you liked it, thanks for the review!

winglessfairy25: Aw, I'm glad I could make your day! Thanks for the review, hope you liked part two!

jacksparrow589: Yes, children, as in plural. :) I hope this was soon enough for you, thanks for the review!

Alex: Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoyed part two!

Martrex: Here's more! Thanks for the review; I hope you liked part two!

Anne Packrat: _bows_ I do try. Thank you for your very high compliment, it made _my_ day. Hope you liked part two!

Neopyrocitrine: Glad you liked it, hope part two lived up to it!

Ruki44: Thanks for the review, I hope this continues to meet your expectations.

OTP: Thanks for the review, hope you liked part two!

Dennisud: Yes, Riza. As a mom. And Roy. Being Roy. Glad to see you're still around, old friend! Hope you enjoyed part two!

Thats it for this update. Hopefully the next one will be just as quick.

CB

'And lo, I looked upon the sky, and it was puce.'

Unknown


	3. Chapter 3

Once a week updates aren't so bad, are they? Thanks to all of you who reviewed, replies are at the end of the chapter. Enjoy part 3!

-0i0-

"You'll be hearing from me as soon as everything is taken care of," the Governor promised as he helped them load their things onto the train the next morning, Riza standing with her charges as Roy put their carryon bags in their private compartment. She'd laid down the extra funds willingly, unsure of how the children would react leaving their hometown for the first time and deciding it would be best to be away from prying eyes should it result in a total meltdown of some kind.

"We'll be looking forward to it," she replied, giving Zeke a gentle nudge before he grudgingly thanked the man for taking care of him and his sister and bidding him goodbye. The Governor just nodded, letting the boy go board the train before Beth hugged his leg and looked up at him with a hint of a smile.

"I'd say take good care of them, but you already are," he sighed, watching as Riza picked Beth back up and carried her on her hip. Thank goodness the girl was small and thin for her age, or her back would have been killing her a few days before. "Bless you for your kindness; please don't hesitate to call if you need something."

"We'll keep that in mind, thank you." Riza shook his hand firmly, Roy doing the same as he reappeared luggage free. "Goodbye, Governor."

He nodded, stepping back as they boarded together. "Goodbye."

Watching the train pull out of the station, the old man waved until it was out of sight.

-0i0-

Beth sat on Riza's lap as the woman kept an eye on Roy and Zeke across from them, the young girl curious as she watched the countryside flash by. She hadn't cried as they left, in fact inside there had been mostly relief. Every place, person and sound that reminded her of her parents only reopened the wounds that had been inflicted upon her young heart. She hadn't been able to cry until Riza had given her that look, and somehow knowing another understood her pain had made all the difference. With that release had come acceptance, and with it the beginnings of healing.

"Beth, are you ok?" Zeke asked, her brother watching her with the ever present concern. "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head slowly, giving him a faint smile as she snuggled further into her caretaker's protective embrace. "I'm fine."

"Are you alright?" Riza asked Zeke as he put his feet on the seat, bringing his knees to his chest. "You look tired."

"I'm not sad to leave, is that alright?" he asked, forgetting for the moment that he was supposed to be upset with her for his life being ruined. "I don't think I'll be back, either…"

"Sometimes, to grieve you need to remove yourself from the place your grief began," she explained slowly, feeling slightly out of depth as his eyes clouded over. "Don't feel guilty for being glad to leave sad memories behind you."

"But they're memories of good people, people that I loved a lot," he argued, swiping an angry arm across his face when wet trails began to appear. "I shouldn't be happy to forget them!"

"You're not," Roy rumbled from beside him, putting a gentle but hesitant arm around the boy. "And you never will forget them, not if you really loved them."

"Zeke?" Beth slid from Riza's lap, the woman helping her stay steady as the little girl took her brother's hand in her own.

"Hm?" He looked down at her, squeezing her hand gently.

Her eyes watched him solemnly. "You'll stay with me right?"

Zeke rolled his eyes at that, but wiped away the last of his tears and smiled at her as best he could. "Right."

"Then don't be sad, because I'm happy you're with me." The children embraced, and Beth seemed to nod to herself. Moving back to Riza's lap, she watched out the window once more as Roy distracted Zeke by asking what other Alchemists were in his book and who he liked the best.

Zeke had immediately pulled out the volume and began asking questions about who Roy knew best and what the alchemic abilities were like in real life. Realizing that the Brigadier General had known Edward and Alphonse Elric personally and had been their superior officer in the Military brought a whole new level of hero worship to light and by the time they reached their final stop Roy had fairly well exhausted his knowledge of the short alchemist with help from Riza occasionally. It was a very long ride.

-0i0-

Winry was waiting for them at the platform after they called from the last station to say they would be on time, wearing her usual mechanic's garb and a smudge of grease still on her cheek. Helping them unload their things quickly, she waited until the last bag was in the wagon before wrapping Riza in a warm hug. The other woman was slow to respond, but it was strong and sincere once she did.

"It's been too long," the lieutenant said as she pulled back, studying the young mechanic with a small smile. "How are you?"

"Good, work keeps me busy most of the time," she replied, smiling back though there was a hint of sadness behind it. Turning to the small girl at Riza's feet, she squatted and said, "And who is this pretty girl?"

Beth smiled back shyly, though she clung to Riza's leg and refused to speak even after the introductions were through and they were all seated in the wagon.

"Borrow it from a neighbor?" asked Roy as he sat with her at the front, Riza keeping an eye on the kids as they rolled in the hay that padded the back.

"Yeah, he owes us a few favors and was more than happy to help," she replied as she guided the beast pulling them down the road. "Granny will be happy to see you, she won't admit it but it's lonely without Al or Ed sticking their heads in occasionally."

"Wait, do you mean Edward and Alphonse Elric?" asked Zeke as he leaned forward over the seat between them. "Did you know them?"

"I grew up with them," Winry replied with a touch of pride. "They used to live just down the road from my house."

Zeke's jaw almost hit the ground. "That's so cool! You didn't tell me they were from here!"

Winry laughed, Riza pleased to see that the gloom that had once gripped the energetic young woman was truly losing its hold. Ed and Al were gone for good as far as they knew, forever trapped on the other side of the gate. With them, whether or not they knew it, they had taken a part of Winry's heart. She had loved them, though to what extent it was hard to say, and knowing they were still alive somewhere was a double-edged sword. With the relief that they were probably safe and well came the pain of knowing they were as unreachable as though they were dead.

Pulling up to the house, they piled out of the wagon and into the kitchen, bags stashed in the guestrooms and introductions gone through again (with Zeke once more going fan-crazy that Pinako had practically raised his heroes for a short time) before Pinako sat them down to a hearty meal with light banter and much laughter. Beth actually spoke a few times, though she refused to leave Riza's side, was firmly attached to her lap once the eating was finished, and seemed to listen in rapt attention as Pinako regaled Zeke with tales the Military pair already knew about the Elric brothers and a few anecdotes from their days as children that they hadn't heard before.

"They used to fight about everything," the old woman was saying as she poured them all coffee, giving Zeke and Beth juice instead so as to not keep them up all night. "And if it came to swinging fists, Al almost always won. If he didn't, it was a stalemate or their mother broke it up before they got that far. They even fought over who would marry Winry!"

"They were very young, then, and I told them I wouldn't marry either of them because they had cooties," the mechanic chuckled from where she was fixing a piece of automail, having brought it out after the meal.

"You should have chosen Al, just because he was taller," Roy joked quietly, Riza rolling her eyes though she smiled as well.

"Edward would probably yell something like 'Who are you calling so short not even a midget would marry him!' if he heard you say that," she pointed out, Pinako agreeing completely as she lit her pipe.

"He really was that short?" put in Zeke, looking up from the photo album Pinako had let him look through. "He doesn't look too short as a kid."

"It didn't become apparent until he got older. After he turned 11 or so he just…stopped growing almost," Winry explained as she screwed in another bolt. "They had some theories as to why, but even the last time I saw him he was barely taller than me if he was at all!"

"That probably doesn't seem very short to you now," Roy added when he saw Zeke's puzzled look. "But he was probably around seventeen or eighteen at that point, and I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't matched Riza's height yet."

Zeke tired to hide a yawn behind his hands and failed as the clock chimed the ninth hour, Riza glancing down to find Beth nodding off in her arms. "Time for bed," she announced as she rose to her feet, Zeke complaining immediately as Roy pulled him up and pushed him towards the room they'd be sharing. Beth was easy to put down in the room they would share, giving Riza a kiss on the cheek before falling asleep almost before she was out the door.

"He wants to talk to you," Roy informed her the moment she was back out in the hall, Winry and Pinako hiding amused grins as he headed back to the table and she entered their room.

"It feels strange to see you out of uniform," Winry commented as he sat himself back down, accepting a little 'something extra' Pinako offered from a brown bottle in his coffee. "I don't think I've ever seen you without it before, actually."

"Its felt strange to be out of uniform this long," he admitted wryly. "I don't think Riza or I have been in civvies this much since I was bedridden by King Bradley's sword."

"He wanted to make sure you weren't lying about showing him the Elric's house tomorrow," Riza explained when she reappeared once more. "Resorting to bribes already to keep the boy in bed?"

"It wasn't worth arguing over, not tonight," he shrugged; unaware of the look that passed between their hosts though Riza caught the tail end of it with a frown. She sat down and pulled out her gun from her purse, taking it apart as she did almost every night and cleaning it as she went. Since the house already smelt of metal and oil she fit right in. "Now that the kiddies are in bed, how have things really been around here?"

"Quiet," Pinako sighed, pouring herself more from the brown bottle in her coffee. "Too quiet, really. Business is good, but with the boys gone there's never any excitement around here anymore and Winry keeps leaving for her trips to Rushvalley and Central. Rose has moved back to Lior, she writes but never visits, and since Izumi passed away her husband has stopped coming around. Not much of a talker, but he was a good drinking partner."

"You should come to Central, I'm sure the men would love to take you on over a few rounds of scotch," Roy said sincerely, sipping his coffee as the alcohol warmed his belly nicely. "We could walk around and show you all the places Edward made a spectacle of himself while he was there."

"Maybe someday I'll take you up on that offer," she said as she lifted her cup to him lightly. "Maybe."

"We look forward to it."

"What about you, Winry?" Riza put in as she accepted a drop from Pinako's bottle as well, settling back in her chair. "How are things in Rush Valley?"

"Good, most of my orders come from there, and I always spend more time meeting with clients than I do looking at new automail while I'm there," she replied, holding up the piece in her lap. "This is actually an unusual order, only the four fingers were lost so the port had to be designed not to impede the movement of the palm or knuckles while the fingers had to work naturally with the thumb. The original designer couldn't refine the parts enough to give with the smooth, almost-real feeling automail is supposed to have with the range of motion and versatility needed…" She trailed off, flushing in embarrassment. "Sorry, that's probably more than you cared to know."

Riza shook her head. "It's fine; I'm used to it after working with alchemists for so many years. Automail at least makes a semblance of sense, though, as it is not that different from my guns." She had just finished reassembling the weapon and replaced the clip firmly. Applying the safety, she placed it back in her purse before putting away her oil and cleaning clothes. "Regardless of if it's a machine gun or a pistol; all weapons of this nature require the same basic components. Automail is much the same."

"It is simply the quality and care that marks the difference between a rifle that often misfires and one that works smoothly every time," Pinako finished sagely, chewing on her pipe in a contemplative manner. "Machines are machines; if you become versed in one of them you generally understand them all."

"If only alchemy were the same," joked Roy as he poured himself more coffee and let Pinako add about the same amount from her bottle in his cup. "There's so many different theories and talents and types…Armstrong's alchemy has been in his family for generations, they've been in the public eye as part of the military for almost one hundred years, and yet no one else has managed to copy their style completely. Parts, yes, but not all of it."

"There were those brothers that tried to pass as the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother," Riza mused quietly. "Plant specialists according to the reports Edward gave us. They managed to use an entire forest of trees to purify the countryside of the red water."

"And there's never been another Flame Alchemist, has there?" asked Winry, leaning forward with her chin in her hand.

"Not in the military, no," agreed Roy slowly, though he glanced at Riza as he spoke. "My teacher is the one who taught me the flame…and his research went far more in depth than I could ever imagine or hope to reproduce."

"Not that you would want to," murmured his subordinate to herself, their hosts throwing her a surprised look but leaving it alone when Roy quickly changed the subject.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked for the full story as to how those two tykes came into Riza's possession," he said lightly, Pinako's special brew relaxing him and his tongue more than he was used to in the company of others.

"I figured if there was a story, you would tell it when you were ready and not before," Pinako replied, though her brows lifted in interest. "All Winry said was their parents had passed on and Riza had agreed to take them in…?"

"They're my mother's youngest stepbrother's kids, technically my cousins," Riza explained carefully, leaning on the table with both arms as her hands cradled the mug. "There was a plague; apparently it wiped out most of the townspeople before the medicine could arrive…all of their family included. Somehow, they survived. They have nowhere else to go."

"The boy seems quite interested in alchemy, especially when it comes to the Elric brothers," the old woman chuckled lightly. "Girl's a mite quiet, though."

"You wouldn't have thought so, the way she opened up to Riza," Roy stuck in with a hint of pride. "She clams up fast if she's around someone she doesn't know, but once she gets used to you she's quite sweet."

"She reminds me of Elysia," admitted Winry as her smile turned somewhat sad. "Her eyes are exactly the same as when, well…you know."

"Or your eyes when the news of your parents came," added Pinako as she patted her granddaughter on the arm. "Perhaps you should try and talk to her tomorrow."

Winry nodded, but buried herself back in her work, the others pretending not to notice when she dabbed at a hint of moisture at the corner of her eye.

"Well, you young ones may be used to staying up half the night, but its time I went to bed for my beauty sleep," Pinako sighed as she hopped off her chair and began to collect the few dishes left from dinner. "Goodness knows I need as much as I can get…"

"Nonsense, you're as lovely as any lady in Central," Roy replied smartly, helping her as he rose to his feet. He managed to avoid the swing of her cane, giving her an innocent look as she laughed quietly at his antics.

"Flatterer," she accused him brusquely as she shook a finger at him. "Careful, your words might go to an old lady's head."

"They should, I never speak but the absolute truth," he replied, prentending to ignore the way his subordinate snorted into the remains of her coffee. "Anyone who says otherwise might be facing a court martial when we get back to Central."

Winry smothered a smile as Riza's brows rose slightly, turning to look at the Brigadier General out of the corner of her eye. "It's amazing what men will say when they think they can get away with it," she murmured so only Winry could hear, the mechanic losing her composure entirely as she melted into a pile of giggles.

"What was that, Riza?" Roy called from where he was helping rinse off the dishes.

"Nothing, sir," she replied.

"Roy."

"Roy," she amended, though her lips twisted slightly. Almost a week he had insisted on the lack of formality, and she still wasn't used to it. She'd stopped jumping when he called her by name, but his didn't come quiet as easily to her lips. Not since he'd left, and certainly not in public. Winry called to her grandmother than she was going to clean the workshop up before she went to bed and motioned for Riza to follow her as she descended to the basement that served as the primary shop for her grandmother's automail business.

"How are you really, now that the…now that Roy and your grandmother aren't listening," Riza asked as she seated herself on one of the stools there, Winry busying herself with putting up the automail piece she'd worked on. "Winry…?"

"It's harder than the first time," she admitted, picking at her fingernails as she refused to meet the lieutenant's eyes. "Its almost like the hope has been sucked right out of me…I know it seems silly to give up hope when he did come back once, but somehow I know this time…they're not coming back."

"I'm not an alchemist, I can't tell you the probability of them ever returning home," Riza whispered as she set her mug down on the countertop, placing a single hand on Winry's shoulder. "I can only be here when you need me to be."

The younger woman's hand curled around her own, squeezing gently before she let go and the Lieutenant pretended not to notice as she wiped the wet tracks on her sleeve. "Yeah, I know…thanks."

"So, how is it having your dashing Colonel return?" Winry asked as she seated herself on the counter, Riza taking her seat once more though she leaned against the counter tiredly. "I remember you were pretty upset that he left."

"It's good that he returned, the men need him at the helm of things and he's once more working his way to the top," she replied as she traced the lip of the empty mug, keeping her eyes on her short, blunt nails. "He's become quite the alchemist of the people, he's put more hours on the reconstruction teams than most of the other State Alchemists and he's gone out of his way on the weekends to find people who need things fixed and help them achieve just that."

Winry waited patiently, cleaning some of the grease from her fingers with a rag as Riza squirmed slightly under her gaze.

"You know I swore to keep things strictly professional after he left," the woman finally muttered as her lips twisted sourly.

"That's why I was surprised to hear you'd taken vacation time together," admitted the mechanic as she met the officer's pained gaze.

"The Fuhrer ordered him to come," she explained as she tucked a stray blonde wisp behind one ear, remembering it like it was yesterday. They had both been summoned at the same time, and after the Fuhrer had explained calmly she was to leave immediately to answer the letter he'd turned to Roy and told him it was exactly what he'd asked for. "He's been working himself too hard, but he told the Fuhrer that unless the man could find him something useful to do with his vacation time he wouldn't use it. He had two years to make up for, and he wasn't about to waste time."

"So he assigned him a week of escort duty, though you clearly don't need it, just to get the Brigadier General out of the office," Winry chuckled quietly. "That sounds like him. I take it this trip has…made things more difficult?"

"It's very easy to maintain boundaries when you only see each other in the office, and you're expected to maintain a certain amount of decorum," Riza sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "But riding on trains together for hours at a time, finding I've suddenly gained two charges in his presence, and him slowly worming his way in with Beth and Zeke…he's promised he's going to be a constant male presence in their life since they don't have a father and I'm certainly not about to go and get married to someone else just so they do."

"Seems like he's pretty determined not to leave things the way they are." Her companion tilted her head until she met Riza's gaze. "Is it such a bad thing, having him around? When he's not being an arrogant bastard, that is."

Riza groaned aloud. "That's it! He's not been an arrogant bastard since he got back, not the way he used to be at least. He's still so confident, but not to the point you want to shoot him in the face just to get rid of his smirk. He hasn't flirted with everything that has boobs and a decent face on the trip, hell; I don't think he's been on a date since he returned. He's been attentive, helpful, kind, supporting…"

"Then why not?"

"Because," The sharpshooter sighed, staring at her friend blankly. "If he left again, I don't think I could take it. This way, if he has to go, I can still survive."

Winry smiled sadly. "You'd be surprised what your heart can take when it's forced to."

Riza gave a bitter laugh. "Am I a coward, then, for not wanting to face that kind of pain?"

"No, but I have to wonder if it hurts more to have it and lost it, than to let it slip by your fingers and wonder what you might have had for the rest of your life."

Riza had no answer for that, and her companion seemed to sense that as she hopped from the countertop and opened the door. "I'm exhausted, and you look fairly tired as well. Let's get some sleep, ok?"

"Ok."

Back in her room, Riza lay on her bed and stared at the small figure huddled under its blankets across from her as sleep proved difficult to reach. So much running through her mind, it was hard to pinpoint anything at all. Grumbling something about stupid men and why the hell maternal instincts had to start popping up in her life now of all times, she rolled over and prayed for the dawn to come.

-0i0-

The next day passed uneventfully enough, Roy keeping his promise to take Zeke to see the Elric's house, or what was left of it, while Winry coaxed Beth into going with her to buy some more fresh vegetables from the vendor in town. Riza, finding herself with her hands unusually free after she finished the one book she'd brought along, joined Pinako in the kitchen where the old woman quickly realized the Lieutenant knew her way around a chopping board and set her to helping with dinner.

"Thank you, again, for letting us come and stay with you like this," Riza said as she peeled and sliced the apples for the pie. "It was rather short notice, too…"

"It's good to have some excitement around here, and that boy of yours certainly likes to liven things up," the old mechanic chuckled as she pointed with her pipe out the window where Roy and Zeke were seeing who could run along the fence top the farthest without falling off.

Riza almost yelled for them to stop, catching herself just in time as she rolled her eyes. "Which one?" she muttered as she set down the knife, wiping her hands and just managing to catch Roy's eye despite the distance. He seemed to sense her displeasure and quickly moved on to another game, one that didn't involve possible broken bones for her new charge. "Idiot…"

"The Elrics used to do the same thing, until their mother caught them at it," admitted Pinako with an amused snort. "Boys will be boys, I suppose."

"It's a wonder so many of them actually survive to adulthood," Riza huffed as she placed the sliced apples in the pie tin, the crust already prepared and waiting.

"Ah, well, they're sturdier than they look."

Moving onto the meal itself, she was set to stir-frying the vegetables as Pinako checked the roast in the oven and potatoes boiling on the stove. Time passed quickly, and before she knew it Winry and Beth had returned laughing and talking quietly as the older girl gave the younger a piggy back ride into the house. Zeke and Roy weren't too far behind, having found some old fishing rods behind the house and with Pinako's blessing gone to try their hand at landing a catch. Nothing bit, though, and as the sun went down they came back in to find the table set and a delicious smell pervading the air. Laughing and light banter once more filled the air as they sat down around the table, Pinako encouraging everyone to help themselves once she'd seated herself and passing the compliments along to Riza who had done as much as she had for the meal.

"That was excellent," Roy sighed as he leaned back sometime later, the roast decimated, the vegetables gone, only a remnant left of the potatoes and the pie nothing but a bit of crust and some apple that had leaked off to the side. "You're spoiling me, Pinako; I won't be able to eat what they serve us in the cafeteria for a week."

"Have her cook for you," she snorted, jerking a thumb at Riza who rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look, missy, you know your way around a kitchen as well as I do."

"At least we know we won't starve," Zeke stuck in, never one to miss a chance for a barb at his new warden who had officially wrecked his life, though the others gave him disapproving looks that he ignored. "Say, granny, got anymore stories about the Elric brothers?"

"Boy, I have more than you have time to hear," she chuckled as she tapped a bit more tobacco into her pipe. "Go put your pajamas on and I'll tell you a couple more before you go to bed."

"Bed? It's early!" he complained as he looked to Riza who nodded slowly.

"It is," she agreed, "But we're leaving on the first train out, and that's earlier than you're used to rising. Go to bed and get some rest, the next few days will be busy."

The boy grumbled but obeyed as he at least had the intelligence to pick his fights, stomping off as Pinako followed chuckling to herself.

"I'll put Beth to bed," Riza said as she rose, the little girl following obediently as she clung to her caretaker's hand. Roy watched them leave with a small smile, only turning back to Winry when he heard the young woman take a sip of her coffee and remembered she was there.

"So, you guys talked for a long time last night," Roy started as he leaned back in his chair, feigning innocence when Winry gave him a suspicious look. "What? I didn't eavesdrop, that's why I'm asking you now."

"I'm not telling you anything," the young mechanic informed him firmly.

"Aw, Winry, please…?" Roy gave his best puppy eyes, but apparently Winry was completely immune because she scoffed at him and rolled her eyes.

"Al could do it better when he was a pile of armor," she informed him lightly, smirking as he feigned being shot in the chest.

"I was told my puppy eyes were rather adorable," Roy pouted, breaking into a grin when he noticed Riza watching them with a bemused look in her eyes. "Winry said my puppy eyes weren't very good!"

"They aren't," she informed him smartly. "Hayate is much better at them than you are, and he rarely gets his way with them. Very rarely."

"Riza…!" The women exchanged quiet glances as he sputtered and protested, ignoring him until he finally gave it up and moved on to their travel arrangements for the next day.

"Five is usually a hard number to travel with, but since Beth seems to spend most of her time in other's laps I don't think we'll have too much trouble getting seats together," he commented as he looked around for Pinako's brown bottle until Winry seemed to realize what he was looking for and pulled it out of a cabinet drawer. "Six o'clock, right?"

"We'll want to leave here around 5:30 to be sure we're not late," Riza added as she accepted just a drop from the bottle in her coffee. "That means we'll probably want to head off to bed ourselves soon."

"That boy is the most curious fellow I've ever met, he found that fact that Edward hated milk unless it was in stew so utterly fascinating I almost choked trying not to laugh," Pinako said as she reentered the room. The bottle was quickly placed back in her possession, and as she made herself a cup of half and half she added, "He's the type that will try things 'just because he can', mark my words."

"That type either die young or turn into legends," Roy snorted as he leaned back in his chair. "Wonder which he'll be?"

"If he has his way, a legend, probably," teased Pinako. "I've spent most of this time talking, why don't you tell me some stories now? Those boys of yours at Central always seem to be getting into trouble, I'm sure you can recall at least a few tales to amuse an old lady."

"Actually," admitted Roy as he traded looks with Riza. "Havoc's gotten himself into a rather interesting situation lately…"

Pinako and Winry laughed at the second lieutenant's expense as the Brigadier General related the tale of how the man's heart had been slowly captured by a girl who loved books more than anything else in the world. The girl, of course, was Military, but because of her position the fraternization rules didn't apply. Even so she proved very hard to catch. Not because she was in love with Roy like most previous cases, or because he was an idiot or tried to rush into it too fast. But because she was too interested in her books to notice him much at all!

That morphed into speculations about Maria Ross and Denny Brosh, their new subordinates who had been working together almost their entire military career.

"Brosh was quite upset when Miss Ross took a liking to the Elric's father," admitted Pinako with a nod. "Although it could be entirely one-sided, he seems a bit immature and I think it's been proven that she prefers older men…"

"Brosh is much like Havoc, he just doesn't have the years behind him to make up for boyish tendencies yet," Riza observed as she finished her cup and set it aside, absently scratching Winry's dog on the head as she wistfully remembered she had her own furry friend waiting for her at home. "Despite his faults, he's a good soldier. Armstrong always had positive reports on him, and even if the then-Major was inclined to cast everything in a good light he never outright lied about his subordinates' behavior."

"He just buried it under a mountain of 'however's," Roy coughed under his breath, innocently ignoring the glare Riza gave him. "He's left Central again, according to Fuery, and headed out to some city that had its own earthquake. Natural disaster and not alchemists' meddling with unnatural forces this time."

"He's an alchemist of the people, he'll probably do more good there than the soldiers Central will assign to their reconstruction."

"Probably."

"It's late," said the sharpshooter as she rose to her feet, collecting most of the dishes left and heading for the kitchen. "It would probably be best if we retired for the night before our long journey in the morning."

"I'm not quite packed yet, I should probably go finish before I go to bed," admitted Winry a tad sheepishly, slipping up the stairs as Pinako cleaned up the last little bit and Roy went in his own room slowly.

-0i0-

The night passed faster than any of them wanted it to, and when Pinako came trundling down the stairs in the morning she found the lieutenant standing over the coffee pot waiting for it to finish percolating.

"I hope you don't mind," Riza started only to be shushed by the older woman.

"Nonsense, saves me the trouble of doing it myself," she laughed lightly. "Beautiful morning, hm?"

"Yes, it is," her companion agreed as the machine finished its work and the pot was removed to have its steaming contents poured in two waiting mugs. "Nothing should hold up the trains in this sort of weather."

"Hopefully." She paused, tapping her pipe against her lip as she watched their visitor out of the corner of her eye. "Lieutenant…"

"Riza," Hawkeye corrected her with a small smile. "Since you won't let us use your titles either."

"Riza, then…you're a strong woman," Pinako said as she emptied her pipe before tamping now a new bit of tobacco and lighting it carefully. "Winry actually holds a lot of respect for you, which surprised me at first given her original views of the military in general. Still, just because you have the strength to carry others doesn't mean you can always carry yourself. You have many who depend upon you, but who do you depend upon?"

"Myself, as I have for the last ten years," Riza replied steadily as she sipped the bitter liquid, absently enjoying the way it warmed her middle though she was listening to Pinako. "I have friends, of course…"

"There are few humans that were made to live alone, and I don't believe you were one of them," the old woman said as she tapped Riza with one wrinkled finger. "All strong women, unfortunately, have an Achilles' heal. Generally, it comes in the form of one particular man in their life. Thankfully, there is a cure."

"Running for the hills?" hazarded Riza, though the dry tone she used showed she suspected the truth.

"Just the opposite," the old woman laughed. "Don't scowl, it's too early for that, and just think about what I said. I'm not saying your man is in front of you now, or that he already has come and gone, but when you do find him don't be an idiot."

Riza raised one brow slightly.

"Skeptics," Pinako sighed as she shrugged and began to fry eggs at the oven. "Either you'll find out for yourself or you won't, but be a dear and give me a hand with this."

Even with the decent breakfast spread the pair was able to throw together and Roy over sleeping they made it to the train with time to spare, the Brigadier General loading their luggage in the designated car while Winry and Riza found seats with the children. Goodbyes with Pinako had been short but sincere, the old mechanic staying at the house while the neighbor took them to the station.

By the time Mustang rejoined the group and sagged in his seat beside Zeke the conductor was yelling the last call while the engine rumbled to life once again. With the usual false-start or two, things slowly began to roll along as the train established its usual rhythm and began to fly down the track.

Beth was rather amusing to watch, seated in Winry's lap by the window she started with wide eyes at the passing scenery while Zeke was glued to a book Pinako had given him that had once belonged to the Elric's on basic alchemy. He swore he'd memorize it front to back, and Roy had no doubt he was on his way to doing just that the way he focused on it.

Riza and Winry chatted amiably about the mechanic's last visit to Central and a play that was still showing that they hadn't been able to go see at the time. The reviews were good, apparently, and they were discussing possible days to go while comparing schedules as Roy drifted off to sleep across from them.

Hours and stations passed, and it wasn't until halfway to their second to last stop than anything of interest happened at all. The train suddenly slowed though they were in the middle of nowhere, though Riza could see nothing that might be causing such outside the transportation device.

Mustang woke with a snort as the train braked more quickly than normal, yawning as he slowly stretched.

"Sorry for the delay," the conductor's voice crackled over the intercom system. "We're experiencing some technical difficulties; things should be up and running again soon."

"I wonder if I should go and see if they need help," commented Roy as he stood slowly, stretching out his sore spots and scratching absently below his eye patch as others got up to do the same in their short break.

"If anybody goes, it won't be you," Winry quipped in a very Ed-like fashion. "Even with your fancy alchemy, if you don't understand how trains work attempting to help fix it is pointless."

"I can restore things without knowing their original form," Roy protested as Riza hid a small smile.

"Yes, but if that original form is what caused the problem in the first place you may do more harm than good."

Beth's eyes twinkled as she watched from her place in Riza's lap, having moved there when she began to get dizzy from the train window. Roy sighed, seeing her look and winking before faking being wounded.

"Ah! It hurts that these fair ladies have no confidence in me at all…"

He was cut short as the train engine suddenly roared to life again, the conductor's voice coming over the speakers to announce that the problem had been addressed and they would be at their destination in just about another thirty minutes.

-0i0-

That's it for now, folks. Please review, it makes my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

Review replies:

The Tiramisu of Impending Doom : Your name still rocks, just so you know. Something about it makes me smile very big, I think Sorcerer Hunters has something to do with it. Thank you for your high compliments, it's one thing to have someone say 'that's great, write more!' but when the readers really identify the work and effort that goes into a deep story it makes the author feel all warm and fuzzy inside for a long time. Yeah, personally I love the way Riza has a hard time calling him 'Roy', it puts such a nice barrier between the two. I wrote more, hope you liked it!

LoonyBin08 : I'm glad you still love it! Next chapter has been served, hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review!

Dailenna : I hope you found your way to your room, and then back to the computer to read the next chapter. And that you remembered the name of the story to do so. Alzheimer's could make that all a bit difficult, ne? Yeah, I feel old to when I start thinking of things 'back in my day'. And Zeke should sound a bit older; he did just lose all but one member of his immediate family in a plague. That tends to age you a bit, I think. Thanks for the review, it was great!

Mrs. Jean-Summers : Thanks for the great review! It was much appreciated.

Bar-Ohki : You got your wish! No, Roy hasn't tried to set Zeke on fire…yet. :P And next chapter we get to see the beginning of the introductions. Thanks for the review, it was much appreciated!

Ruki44 : Yes, we all want to strangle Zeke. That's the point. Thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy25 : Aw, thank you! It's a great honor being added to a favorites list, just so you know. Glad to know I could make your day as well, that's double points for me! Thanks for the great review, I hope you liked part 3.

Jacksparrow589 : Thanks for another great review! Yeah, Zeke's gonna piss off a lot of people before long, but I think he'll get over it eventually. Most guys do, at least. I hope this is still timely enough for you, and it's great to know you're planning on sticking around for awhile.

Twisha : Congratulations on the longest review to date! And rambling is just fine, it gives me more to read. :) Your high praise was most rewarding, as were your detailed recollections of your favorite parts. Yes, it is moving a little slow right now compared to most fics, but part of that is because of how much I'm trying to establish. This is about as multi-dimensional as my stories get, so it has a lot to set up for. Don't worry, it's about to start picking up real soon. I actually did read your fic, I just haven't sat down to write a review yet. Don't worry, it won't be a flame. :P Thanks for the review!

Smiling cat : Thanks for the review, it was much appreciated! I'm trying for realistic, I'm glad it hit the mark.

Anne Packrat : Yeah, I know it's a bit sad that the Elrics aren't around, but their absence is allowing for some other things in the future. Stay tuned to find out what! Thanks for the review, it was much appreciated!

Martrex : You want more Roy-Riza ness? Don't worry, it's coming for sure, just gotta let me get through settling them in first. Thanks for the review, I really appreciated it!

Dennisud : Hello, old friend! Do you know how great it is to see people following my stories from previous submissions? It really makes my day. Nope, no Ed or Al in this story. And while it will be Roy and Riza centric, there will be some side plots going on underneath. And yeah, I'd love to see a post-series Ed and Winry too, but that's not what I got a plot bunny for. If it ever happens, you'll be the first to know, but until then you'll have to be content with whatever else serves up. Thanks for the review, it's great to hear from you again!

That's all for now, folks. Until next time!

CB

_Things are always alright in the end. If its not alright, its not the end. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four, and exactly one week after once again. Aren't I a good authoress:) Thanks to those who reviewed, replies are at the end as usual, and I hope you enjoy this fourth installment of A Family Affair.

-0i0-

Fuery met them at the Station in Central later that evening, coming to a smart salute with a relieved smile when he saw his commanders get off the train. The little girl in the lieutenant's arms and the boy that trailed behind them with a scowl were an interesting addition, but when one worked with Roy Mustang you never knew what surprises were going to come next. Winry said her goodbyes, planning on hoofing it over to Gracia's alone since there wasn't room in the car for her, as the Sergeant was introduced to his new 'niece' and 'nephew'.

"Beth, Zeke, this is Uncle Kain," Roy explained as Fuery patted the adorable girl on the head with a smile before offering a hand to Zeke. The boy shook it, cautiously, staring at the other man as if in abject disbelief.

"Why are you wearing a skirt?" he asked as he motioned to the man's uniform, Fuery turning red as his jaw dropped open.

"That's our military uniform, not a skirt," Roy explained as he steered them all towards the car, the attendants having unloaded their luggage beside it. "Aunt Riza and I wear one similar to it when we're on duty."

"You wear a _skirt_?!" the boy pressed, his brows crinkled in a frown. "That's just silly! He already doesn't look intimidating; the skirt makes him look like a girl! He doesn't even look like he could kill someone."

"Actually, I never have," admitted Fuery as he helped Roy load the bags into the trunk. "I mostly work with electronics and communications, and I've only been in the military half as long as the Brigadier General and First Lieutenant have."

"Spy work," Roy translated when Zeke threw him a confused look. The boy's eyes went wide, his mouth in a round O as he looked at Fuery in a new light.

"Really?" he asked, Fuery giving a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head and adjusted his glasses.

"Well, sometimes, yeah," he admitted, thinking back to the time he'd been placed at the top of the old building monitoring the phone lines while Riza took care of helping Havoc and Falman below.

"Wow…ok, I guess the skirt's not that bad. Uncle Kain, right?"

"Yeah." Fuery sighed to himself as he opened the door for Riza and Beth, Zeke clambering in on the other side while Roy sat in the front passenger seat. "It's not a skirt…"

"How has Hayate been?" asked Riza as Zeke and Beth stared out at the city as it passed by, riveted by the sight of all those people and buildings. An entire block housed more lives than their entire town held, and they found that utterly amazing. "I don't think I've ever left him this long."

"He misses you, but he's eaten fairly well and he'll always go for a walk if I offer to take him," Fuery replied as he navigated through the narrow streets to her military apartment complex. "I've only brought him in to the office once or twice, he doesn't listen to me as well as he does to you and Breda almost killed me when he found him under his desk."

"While I have a hard time finding anyone would think Hayate is scary, Breda is quite convincing in his displays," the lieutenant sighed as they pulled up in front of her building, all of them piling up as Zeke eyed the plain brick building with uniform windows and breezeways going five stories up and five spaces across in a perfectly square building.

"Please tell me there is more to it than this," he said as he looked back at their warden, getting another disapproving look for his trouble. "What?! This looks like the cheap housing you'd get being attached to some kind of organization that doesn't give a crap about how their people live as long as it's somewhat sanitary and fairly humane."

"Welcome to regulation military housing," Roy said as he stood behind the boy, putting a heavy hand on his shoulder. "My apartment is only a little nicer, and that's because I'm a Brigadier General."

"We're only staying here a few days, if things work out well we'll have enough set up that by Saturday night you'll be firmly settled in your own beds once more," Riza explained as she led the way inside, Fuery wishing them a good night as he handed her the key he'd borrowed and turned to leave.

"Can you wait and drive me back?" asked Roy as he helped them carry the bags in.

"Huh? Why?" Fuery gave him a look confused for a second before it clicked and he reddened slightly. "Oh! Never mind! Of course sir, I'll be right here." Musing to himself as they disappeared into one of the ground floor apartments, the sergeant couldn't believe how he could have made that mistake. Then again, if he hadn't known better, seeing them get off the train together with Riza keep an eye on the kids and Roy looking to their luggage they could have been a normal family. Mom, dad, brother and sister piling into a friend's car to go home after a fun vacation together. In fact, for a moment he'd forgotten Roy wasn't permanently attached to their little group, though he wasn't sure Hawkeye would ever appreciate knowing that.

Inside Zeke and Beth were becoming acquainted with a deliriously happy Hayate at having his mistress and all these visitors come in all at the same time. He barked and ran around, licking anyone who would scratch him and generally being good natured in general. Riza only spared a quick pat for him at first, directing where Roy was to place the children's bags before thanking him for his help and politely showing him to the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow to help you pack up," he said as he waved goodbye to the kids. "Get some sleep, Hawkeye, you look exhausted."

She smiled slightly. "You too, sir."

"Is there more than one bedroom?" Zeke asked as he got up to explore, looking around the combined kitchen-living room and finding only two rooms, a bathroom and bedroom, coming off of it.

"No, you'll be on the couch tonight," she replied as she checked her refrigerator and found it as empty as she remembered. "Do you guys like noodle bowls?"

Beth looked up from where a blissful Hayate was in her lap as she scratched his favorite spot behind his ears. "What's a noodle bowl?"

"Never heard of them," added Zeke when she glanced in his direction, having turned his inspection to the few pictures she had out on the end table by the couch. The first was very formal and held a much younger her with an older man that loomed over her heavily. The second looked like a military photo, Uncle Roy and Uncle Kain both in it with several other men he didn't recognize. The third was a picture of her by herself in dress uniform saluting with a serious expression on her face.

Riza sighed, though she smiled as she did. "Well, I suppose there's a first time for everything…" Picking up the phone, she ordered three of her favorites from a take out place down the street and gave them her address for delivery before turning to her two charges and announcing everyone's need to bathe. "You first," she told Zeke as she ushered the boy into the bathroom with a towel and the clothes she'd let him snatch from his bag. "If you hurry, Beth will have time for a bath before the food arrives." She showed him how to operate the knobs before leaving entirely, the boy could wash himself or she'd rope the Brigadier General into teaching him how to do so later on.

"Fine, fine…"

He still took a good twenty minutes before he emerged, hair damp and face red from the heat of the water. In that time Riza had managed to set the kettle to boil, get her clothes from the trip sorted between those that needed washing and those that didn't, put sheets and blankets on the couch for Zeke, changed into a pair of gym pants with a t-shirt and had Beth pick something out to wear after she was clean.

"Shower or bath?" she asked the girl as she entered the bathroom with her, turning on the water and checking the temperature carefully.

"Bath," the girl replied, "Don't like showers."

"Ok, is this too warm?" Riza helped her fill the tub, getting it to the right depth before she showed her the shampoo and soap with her towel set within easy reach. Getting up to leave, she was surprised when a small hand grabbed her sleeve, stopping her in her tracks as a small voice asked shyly.

"Can you wash my hair?"

The sharpshooter turned back around to find the girl was completely serious, something that surprised her. "Ah…why?"

"Mom always did," the girl explained, her lower lip trembling as she looked down sadly. "I'm not very good at it; I get soap in my eyes…"

"I'll wash your hair," she quickly agreed, kneeling down to wipe away the tears that were gathering at the corner of the girl's eyes. Helping the young girl out of the jumper and shirt she'd traveled in, she carefully folded the clothes and set them away from the tub where they'd stay dry as the girl climbed into the tub. Immediately relaxing with its warmth, she gave a small grin as she handed Riza the shampoo and took the soap for herself with a washcloth.

The washing of another's hair was something she had never done before, but figuring it couldn't be too much different than washing her own hair or giving Hayate a bath when he began to smell particularly bad she set to it firmly. Pouring a bit into the palm of one hand, she coated both hands before rubbing it carefully into the young head of blonde in the tub before her. She had to stay on her knees to be able to comfortably reach the young girl, thankful for the rug on the floor, and was surprised how easy a job it was. Beth's hair quickly lathered up, and she wasn't tender-headed so the lieutenant didn't have to worry about hurting her with every little tug. Yes, she was careful, but finding out she didn't have to treat the girl like thin glass figurine was a relief.

Tilting the girl's head back, Beth obediently closed her eyes as Riza used one hand to support her back and dunked her up to her hairline in the water. Rinsing it the best she could, she kept the girl somewhat tilted back as she used water cupped in her free hand to wash the last few suds free.

"The food's here!" Zeke called through the door, Riza staying put when the young girl whirled around and latched quickly onto her hands before she could move.

"My purse is on the counter, give the man twenty five from the black wallet," she called back, quickly reassuring Beth that she wasn't going anywhere before the girl settled back in the water. Helping her wash her back, the rest of the bath went quickly and after helping her dry off the older woman got her in her night clothes and led her to where Zeke was holding one of her guns in the main room. The take-out sat on the counter, and the front door was firmly bolted once more.

"I would prefer if you asked next time you want to see it," she said calmly, noting the way he jumped guiltily and almost dropped the firearm.

"Aren't you afraid someone will get to it in your purse?" he asked cockily, pretending she hadn't scared him a moment before. "Why do you even have it?"

"The safety is specially designed, usually people can't figure it out without being shown the first time, and I always carry it with me even when out of uniform. Especially if I'm with the Brigadier General," she explained as she set Beth at the table, putting her back to him in the process. "There's also a false safety there that works the way most guns do, to fool those who might try and take it from me."

"Bet I can figure it out."

She turned around to watch as he fiddled with the area around the trigger, serving Beth a plateful of noodles and chicken that the girl thanked her for before digging in.

"You're in the wrong spot," she sighed, coming up behind him to put her hands over his. "That's the false safety there. The true safety is here…" She showed him a hidden button along the stock on the other side. "I can flick it off just as fast as I can a regular one."

"Oh…" He glanced up at her over his shoulder. "Why are you showing me this?"

"I once knew a boy who became an adult when he was only a little older than you," she replied as she took the gun back, smoothly removing the clip and breaking the gun into its many components within a matter of moments. "I even lent him one of my firearms knowing it was unlikely he had ever used a gun before but it might save his life. I think you can handle knowing this, but also know that it's a responsibility. If you ever abuse it, you will regret it. Guns are not to be feared, just the people holding them."

"Well…just because you know how to take one apart doesn't mean you can shoot it right," he grumbled, shoving away from her slightly. "I still don't think women belong in the military, and what good is a fancy gun if you can't use it good."

Riza shrugged, unwilling to contend the point any further as her stomach grumbled. "Fair enough."

"Food's getting cold!" Beth called from the table where she contentedly munched on her noodles, Riza putting the gun back together faster than Zeke could follow and placing it by her purse once more with the safety on.

"Go eat," she told the boy as she took her purse to her bedroom. "I'm going to shower, please try and stay out of trouble until I get out."

"We'll be fine, we're not babies," he called back smartly, setting himself at the table and serving himself from the plastic containers.

She went through her usual cleansing routines quickly, just to be sure, and as she stepped back into the main room with her wet hair spread over her shoulders she found them just finishing their food.

"Did you like it?" she asked as she sat down beside Beth, taking what was left and wasting no time in getting it inside her while being sure to use her impeccable manners.

"It was good," Beth replied, giving her that same small grin from before. "Can I play with Hayate some more?"

"For a little while," agreed Riza. "You can't stay up too late, though."

"Who's this guy?" asked Zeke as he picked up the first picture from earlier, bringing it to the table where she was still eating.

"My father," she replied calmly, getting up to make herself some tea when she realized the pot was finally whistling. The stovetop took longer to heat up every time…

"Where is he now?" he asked as he studied the man, hair a darker gold than their caretaker's and his dark eyes sunken in with deep rings under them. "He doesn't look so good here…"

"He died not long after that was taken," she explained as she sat back down with a steaming mug. "He'd been…sick for some time."

"Oh." Zeke looked down for a moment before trying to salvage the situation with, "Why isn't your mom in the picture?"

Riza's smile was a little sad. "She died with I was a little older than Beth. I have a picture of her somewhere, but it might take awhile to dig out."

"Oh, no, that's ok…" He ducked his head again, scratching the back of his neck nervously as he mumbled, "Sorry."

She blinked in surprise. "For what?"

"Y'know…asking and all…" He refused to meet her gaze as he backed away slightly, moving to put the picture back on the table.

"That's alright, it was a long time ago and it no longer hurts." She took the last bite of her food and washed it down with a sip of tea, gathering the plates and plastic containers before placing them in the sink or the trash as needed. "Just so you know, you can ask me anything you want, anytime."

"Then…" His face suddenly took on a mischievous cast as he gave her a smirk. "I can ask you if you're in love with the Brigadier General?"

Apparently a snort of laughter with a raised brow was not the reaction he'd been expecting as his shoulders drooped a bit in disappointment.

_Thank the fates he didn't ask in front of Roy_ she added mentally, easily keeping the mask in place as she calmly explained that she and the Brigadier General had been friends for many, many years and while they were close they weren't that close. _I would be blushing like a schoolgirl and stammering excuses. It's easier when he's not here to pretend there's still a distance there._ _Just like it's impossible to ignore the lack of distance half the time when he is, bloody man…I'm surprised Zeke picked up on it already, though. _

Making a mental note to be more careful in the future so she wouldn't have to blatantly lie to the children, she cleaned up the rest of the kitchen and finished her tea before declaring it was bedtime and began turning out the lights. Zeke only protested for a moment before he stomped his way over to the couch, Beth following Riza into the her bedroom where they would share the bed as there wasn't anywhere else for the girl to sleep. Thankful that she already knew the child was a quiet and unmoving sleeper, she told her to sleep on the side by the wall just incase.

Leaving the door open in case Zeke needed her in the middle of the night, she discreetly placed her gun on the nightstand in easy reach when the girl wasn't paying attention and let Hayate jump on the end of the bed where he always slept. Laying down and turning off the final light, the lamp by her bed, she was a little surprised when Beth curled up into her side automatically and latched onto one of her hands like a stuffed animal to be squeezed to her chest. Settling in so she was comfortable, sleep came more easily than expected with the girl radiating heat into her side the entire night. Finding sharing her bed wasn't as unpleasant as she feared it might be, she was also thankful that they would be in their own beds again by the end of the week as she woke up with her arm asleep from its odd angle at three in the morning and no way to relieve it with the girl firmly curled up around it.

-0i0-

Riza was up and making breakfast in her pajamas and a robe when the doorbell rang, her hand going to her gun as she checked the peephole before opening it in surprise.

"Sir!"

"Here I am, just like I said!" he said as he presented himself, still dressed in civvies though a good bit more casual than the ones he had worn on their trip. His jeans were a bit worn and the button down shirt had seen better days. He also looked a bit tired, but she doubted she was looking her best either.

"Sir…" She leaned back inside and checked the clock before going back to him with a look of utter disbelief. "You're not even at the office this early, ever!"

"What can I say, I got up and couldn't go back to sleep," he replied. "Are you going to let me in?"

"Oh!" She moved aside and he entered her humble abode, amused at the sight of Zeke sprawled on the couch and snoring softly as he greeted the happy Hayate with a warm scratch on the back. "Sorry, I was just surprised…"

"I take it you weren't expecting me for awhile," he commented as he took in her unusually disheveled state. Her hair looked like she hadn't bothered to brush it yet, and she'd clearly slept in what she was wearing.

"Not really…" She led the way to the kitchen, pouring herself a mug of coffee as the machine chimed its finish. "Coffee, sir?"

"What is it with you and 'sir'?" he asked as he accepted gratefully, the hot liquid helping him become more awake.

"Habit, sir," she replied, ignoring the way she wanted to smirk at him teasingly. Instead she remained focused on her own mug when she wasn't adding eggs to the pan and flipping bacon over in the other. She was about to ask if he'd eaten when his stomach grumbled loudly, the Brigadier General having the grace to blush as she eyed him. "So you'll be eating with us, sir?"

"Why are you up so early?" complained Zeke as he shuffled his way into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes as he plopped down at the kitchen table. "Need food…"

"It'll be done in a moment," Riza told him as she poured him some juice from a bottle in the fridge, one of the few things she still had stocked in there. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah…couch is comfy…"

"Then go get your sister up," she told him, nudging him out of the chair when he didn't immediately respond. "Go, it'll help wake you up more." The boy grumbled but shuffled off, Roy moving as she shooed him to the table. "Sit, sir, there's not room over here for two."

"You don't need help?" he asked as he sat down, watching her pull two pieces of bread from the toaster and replace them with two more. A plate was quickly put together and set in front of him a moment later. "I guess not…"

"Eggs, bacon and toast are easy to keep an eye on," she said by way of explanation as she made another plate with what was left. Cracking more eggs and putting more bacon on, she set the other plate on the table and called, "Zeke! Food's ready! Zeke?"

"Do you want me to check on him or keep an eye on the food?" he asked as she began to edge towards the bedroom door.

"Food," she answered immediately, heading towards the bedroom with a hint of a blush. Standing in the doorway, she spotted her missing boy and had to laugh at the sight of him curled up next to his sister in her bed.

"I take it he never finished his errand?" called Roy from the stove, wisely staying away from her private room though he had once stayed there for weeks on end. At one time he could have traversed there without fear, now he knew it was asking for a bullet to the brain to even consider doing so.

"He laid down and fell back asleep," she called back before she entered the room, shaking the two of them gently. "Wake up guys, food's ready."

"Mm…food?" Zeke wasn't too hard to get back up, especially with the smells that were now wafting from the kitchen. Beth, on the other hand…she settled for carrying the still-sleeping girl outside and placing her in one the chair where she'd added two phone books so she could reach things the night before. Roy surrendered the stove back to her capable hands the moment her hands were free, sitting down beside Beth and working to wake her up while eating the bacon and eggs before they grew to cold. Zeke ate across from them only half-coherent for a few minutes, but soon his eyes actually opened more than a sliver and he asked his Uncle Roy how he was doing that morning.

"Good, now that I have some food in me," the alchemist replied as Beth slowly opened her eyes. "Well hello there, Beth, ready to join us?"

"I hope so, because it won't stay hot for long," replied Riza as she put a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of the girl with a cup of milk to the side. "Did you sleep well, Beth?"

"Mhm, you're very warm," the girl replied with a smile. "And you don't snore at all like Zeke does."

"I don't snore!" the boy cried defensively as he flushed scarlet, his warden in nearly as bad a shape as Roy raised his brows suggestively.

"That's good," was all Riza would say, turning her complete attention to the breakfast she bolted down in record time before gathering her plates and dumping them in sink. "Sir, would you mind keeping an eye on things while I change?"

"Not at all, least I can do for letting you feed me," he replied warmly, watching her leave as Zeke watched him watch her.

"I asked her last night if she was in love with you," the boy announced as the alchemist raised his mug to his lips, nearly spitting out his coffee in shock. He managed to save it, though, and looked at Zeke much like he'd grown two heads. "She said that was absurd, you were just good friends for a long time. She did the eye thing, though, that dad said women do when the lie."

"Eye thing?" choked Roy, unable to focus on anything more than that as his mind ran off in several directions at once. "Wait, why did you ask her that?"

"She said I could ask her anything, I just wanted to bug her really," the boy admitted with a shrug as he drained his juice before carrying his plates to the sink. At least he came well-trained. "She's always so calm, I wonder what it would look like if she just lost it one day."

An image of an enraged Riza wielding her guns with deadly accuracy turned loose on the world popped into Roy's mind and he felt his mouth grow dry. "Um…let's not try and provoke that kind of reaction, ok?" he laughed nervously as he picked up his own plates plus Beth's and took them to the sink. "Why don't you go get changed, alright?"

"Ok…"

Riza reappeared just as the boy closed himself in the bathroom, wearing the pants from one of her older uniforms and the undershirt she wore most days under her uniform. It was easy to see why both had been decommissioned, the pants had worn patches in the knees from use and the shirt a few sewn up slashes that looked like they had been made by a knife. Wondering which mission it had happened on, he asked, "Where do we start?" rather that voicing his thoughts.

"I'm not quite sure," she admitted as she finished the cup of coffee she'd left on the counter. "I thought about it some, there's not much here to be moved…its just difficult when if we move the bed and the couch there will be no place to sleep tonight and there's always how we're going to move it all period-"

"Ah, just a moment," he carefully interrupted her. "I meant to tell you, I have a friend who owes me a favor so I borrowed his truck. Breda and Havoc are going to bring it by during their lunch hour and help me carry the heavy stuff out. Also, I called Gracia this morning and she said she could manage to house you all for one night if we can't get the beds set up after work. Fuery and Falman are coming by then, and Gracia said not to worry about dinner she'll have enough for everyone ready and waiting."

"Wait, you didn't have to order the men to come and help," she scolded him with a frown. "And Gracia has plenty enough work without you adding to her list."

"I didn't!" he protested, putting his hands up meekly. "They called me last night, told me when they'd be there and said I better have work for them to do and Gracia wouldn't take no for an answer. Apparently they miss you; things probably aren't the same without a gun being waved over their heads or Elysia's favorite aunt there to play with her."

"Those idiots…I better not find out you're lying," she warned him brusquely and she moved to the front door and found the several boxes she'd requested two days before by phone waiting to be folded into shape leaning beside the doorframe. "Start with the kitchen, don't fold the box unless you need it. Nothing is breakable, or if it is chances are it wasn't worth much to begin with. I'd appreciate it if my pots made it through without any dents, but I'll take what I can get."

"I promise to personally fix anything that doesn't make it through the trip," he replied confidently.

"Alright, I'm going to go get Beth into some clothes and Zeke started packing up the pictures."

It was fairly easy to empty Riza Hawkeye's kitchen, there weren't that many cabinets and she only had enough silverware, plates, cups and bowls to serve four at a time. There was a stack of plastic ware with paper plates and cups, but it wasn't like he had to worry about breaking those and he tossed them without remorse into the nearest box. There were a couple pots and pans, plus some mixing bowls and baking pans. A muffin tin and cookie sheets were quickly packed away, along with the few serving dishes he found there. Towels and dishrags got their own box, though he used a few to cushion some of the glass items. He could fix it if it broke, but why waste the time when he could save himself the trouble? It wasn't until someone knocked on the door that he took notice of his surroundings again, Riza calling for someone to please answer it from the bedroom and Zeke yelling back he was too busy wrestling her blankets into a box.

Getting up to avoid a confrontation, he opened the door to reveal Breda and Havoc standing and sitting there with some bags of food in hand and the truck parked out front as promised. "She thinks I told you to come," he muttered quickly as he let them him. "Please tell her it was your idea!"

"I dunno, letting you take the flack for us is pretty tempting," admitted Havoc as he greeted the happy Hayate, smiling at the little girl who stood behind him with wide eyes. "Hello, missy, what's your name?"

"She's Beth, I'm Zeke," said the boy as he came to stand behind his sister, brown-red eyes suspicious though he noted their blue uniforms were the same as Uncle Kain's the day before. "Who're you and why are you in a chair?"

"This is Uncle Jean and Uncle Heyman," Roy explained as he patted the men on the back. "Uncle Jean had a…accident of sorts a few years ago, so his legs don't work so well. They're here to help for a bit while they're on lunch break. Havoc, Breda, these are Hawkeye's new kids."

"Who was at the door, sir?" asked Riza as she emerged from the bedroom, toting another box marked 'RR' in marker. "Breda, Havoc!"

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Havoc told her as he wheeled across the room, looping a lazy arm over her waist as she gave him a half-hug with one arm and smiled. "You really shouldn't be upset with our commander; we did kinda put him on the spot with the shifts and the work."

"You guys…" She sighed and shook her head, but she couldn't help but smile as she was very pleased to see them. "Thank you."

"I'm surprised Havoc hasn't burst with the news yet," commented Breda as he set the bags on the table and pulled out several sandwiches with plastic containers of potato salad and coleslaw from a restaurant near Headquarters. He constantly eyed Hayate, who kept a respectful distance but seemed to be waiting for a moment when the man's guard would drop. "He hasn't stopped yapping about it all morning."

"They got rid of the fraternization laws!" Havoc practically shouted at the top of his lungs as he remembered his news, pulling Riza into his lap and going into a spinning wheelie he'd perfected months ago.

"HAVOC!"

The Lieutenant was quickly allowed back on steady ground, her subordinate backing away quickly as she set herself to rights with a scowl.

"Now, say that again, without the shouting and the twirling," ordered the woman as she moved to help Breda, pulling out a few cups from one of the boxes and pouring everyone drinks. "I could have sworn I heard you say the fraternization laws are gone, but there's no way…" She paused as Havoc beamed, eyes going wide. "They _what?!_"

"The Fuhrer personally approved it, his reasoning being one has to pick their battles. The laws aren't really gone, just changed, but you can casually date and even get married to fellow officers," Breda explained as he began to slice up the sandwiches and pass them around. Zeke and Beth listened intently to this fascinating adult conversation as Riza shooed them over to the table, Havoc and Roy taking the two other seats as she and Breda remained standing.

"What's a 'fraternization law'?" broke in Zeke in confusion as he tried to follow everything they were saying.

"A rule that kept officers in the military from being together in any form past professional friendship," Roy explained as he bit into his beef and swiss. "Several people have been ignoring it for years except when it suited their interests, but the point was to keep people in high positions from abusing their power by asking for inappropriate favors from those who wanted a promotion."

"It hasn't really been enforced fairly over the years, with a lot of the higher-ups covering for each other, but the new Fuhrer has been weeding out a lot of the corrupt leaders and putting in new ones he can trust," added Riza. "In fact, I can think of several cases where it was blatantly obvious and people ignored it simply because they were afraid of challenging a superior."

"It's wonderful!" sighed Havoc as he leaned back in his seat. "Tonight, I shall go by the library and ask Sheska if she'll accompany me to dinner…now that I can ask her outright she can't say no!"

"You do know she's non-commissioned, right?" Riza commented as she munched on her own chicken-salad on rye.

"Yeah, so?"

"The rules have never applied to her," Riza explained flatly, giving in a strange look. "You didn't realize that?"

"They…what…?!" Havoc seemed about to fall into the pit of despair once more before he remembered his earlier plan. "No matter! She'll be mine tonight for sure, regardless of the time that has already been wasted!"

"You know, word around the office is this'll open up a whole new playing field for you, sir," Breda interjected as he removed the pickles from his sandwich and tossed them to Hayate (who was remaining far enough away for the man to contain his nervousness to an occasional twitch) when he thought Riza wasn't looking. "After all, you've been out with almost every single non-commissioned female officer with a decent figure there is at Headquarters you had contact with, and with your dashing return I know there's several ladies who'd love to get their hands on you…"

"I'm actually not interested right now," Roy replied lightly, careful not to meet anyone's gaze as he busied himself with neatly consuming the last few bites. "Although I do wonder how many relationships will 'blossom' overnight now that more than a couple people I know won't have to hide things anymore…"

"Falman already gave that girl he was seeing in Communications a kiss in public, right after the announcement actually," Havoc chuckled quietly. "I think that one actually surprised people, they did a better job of hiding it than most."

"Well, enough gossip, if you came here to work you better get started or you'll be late getting back to Headquarters," Riza stepped in, the men standing or wheeling away as they picked up the boxes that were ready to go and moved outside. Havoc was pushed into the back of the truck and arranged things from there, helping as they brought in new boxes. A few trips later and they took on the couch, managing to get it through the door and into the truck with a minimum of difficulty. The kitchen table proved to be a bit trickier until Riza showed them how to collapse the legs and with Zeke carrying out the chairs one by one things moved rather quickly indeed. Riza directed the removal of her mattress, box spring, and bed frame (all of which was already taken apart) as well as the single chest of drawers and the night stand. A few more boxes later and half the apartment was gone, with only a rug or two and the rest of Riza's packing to go.

"Not bad for a morning's work," Roy joked as Breda and Havoc got ready to leave in the car they'd brought as well, Zeke already looking up at the men with a touch of hero worship the way they'd easily handled the heavy objects he could barely lift.

"Can we see Central some time?" he asked as they closed up the truck.

"I don't see why not," Riza replied as she lifted Beth onto her back to wave at the men who had made her smile more than once but had yet to coax a word out of her. "It is where I work, and many have brought children there before."

"You should come by today, the Cadet evaluations and contests are going on for the latest graduating class," Breda said as he got behind the wheel after helping Havoc to his seat and stowing his chair in the back. Roy, expecting Riza to cite the packing as a reason not to leave was surprised when she nodded.

"I actually have to drop off the paperwork for my address change and need to check my mail," she admitted with shrug. "I'll need to change before we go, do you want to go see Headquarters today?"

"Yeah!" Zeke replied quickly, giving her a grin as Beth just shrugged.

"We don't have to go if you don't want to," offered Roy as Riza tried to get a response out of her either way.

"I want to," she said at last. "Is it big with lots of people there?"

"Yes, it is," Roy admitted with a shrug. "We'll keep you close though, Riza never leaves anyone behind."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Well then, you two boys clean up the trash from lunch, I need to change and Beth can come with me," Riza said as she headed back inside, Roy and Zeke obeying as they quickly threw away the trash and set things back to rights. It was only a few minutes before she came back out in a simple skirt and blouse, both casual but still neat and clean as Riza always was. Slipping on the same flats she had traveled in when they were on the train and her hair down for once around her shoulders, she followed the boys out the door as they hurried to the Brigadier General's car. "Please take it easy sir," she reminded him as she let Zeke have the front passenger seat, sitting in the back with Beth. "There are children in the car."

"Please, Riza, I'm always careful,"

The car ride was swift, with Zeke gaping in awe the moment they pulled up in front of the monumental building as a steady stream of blue uniforms flowed up and down the steps.

"Let's go!" said Roy as he put a hand on Zeke's back, guiding the boy as he tried to look at everything at once and Riza and Beth followed a short distance behind. The trip inside was slightly more difficult, as the traffic in the halls was greatly increased with the cadets attending their evaluations, taking part in contests, and receiving new assignments. Several moved aside, though, as they recognized the somewhat famous Flame Alchemist even if he wasn't in uniform, and their passage was far easier once they were out of the elevator and on their floor. Here, only a few wandered the halls and quickly the main office door was reached.

Inside, several men and one woman worked at desks, the room a little more crowded with bodies and furniture than Riza remembered. All the work came to a halt, though, as someone cried, "Brigadier General!" and everyone stood as they saluted respectfully.

"No need for that today, I'm still on vacation," said Roy as he waved at them lightly. "Mm?" A young man he didn't recognize stood to his immediate right and continued to stand at attention as though his life depended on it. He was shorter, with flaming red hair and green eyes that bordered on blue with freckles everywhere. "I said at ease…" Roy checked his shoulder and added, "Major." The man relaxed but only to the point that his arm was dropped, sweat practically beading his brow. "What's your name and why are you here?"

"My name is Jeffery Marshall, the Steelmind Alchemist. I've been assigned to your command, sir."

"Right, you're the one that created the array that allows you to absorb knowledge directly into your mind without actually reading or hearing the material and share that knowledge with others," Roy replied, putting a hand on Major Marshall's shoulder. "Welcome to the team."

"Thank you, sir, I look forward to working under you." He glanced at the boy and Riza talking quietly to Maria Ross behind him. "I wasn't aware you were a family man, sir, are these your wife and children?"

The entire office went still as Roy tactfully covered his mouth and moved to the side so Riza had a clear view of the man. She handed Beth to Maria, the young girl having taken an immediate liking to the female officer, and was about to move Zeke towards the Brigadier General when the boy burst out laughing in the dead silence.

"Yeah right!" he snorted, ignoring the way Roy was telling him to back away and shut up silently. "Uncle Roy's not my dad anymore than he's Aunt Riza's wife."

The man had gone pale with the second name, coming into another salute. "Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye, my apologies!" he practically yelped in his attempt to shrivel up and die while standing tall at the same time. "I…incorrectly assumed based upon an incomplete amount of information!"

"First of all," she said as she viewed him with a stern frown. "I'm a First Lieutenant, not a Lieutenant Colonel…"

"Actually," broke in Havoc carefully as he held up a piece of paper. "You are it was made official while you were gone. So you couldn't protest, I think."

She blinked in surprise before snatching the paper from his fingers, reading it with a frown that slowly morphed into a wry twist of the lips. "Ah…so I see. Well then, Major Marshall, as for my other point I would suggest that you think before you speak in the future. However, because of the unusual circumstances your…error will be overlooked."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"We were just showing the kids Headquarters before things start to get hectic again," explained Roy smoothly, drawing the attention away from the very embarrassing situation as quickly as he could. "Beth, Zeke, you remember Uncle Jean, Uncle Kain and Uncle Heyman." The three men waved as Zeke nodded and Beth smiled from Maria's arms. "That man there," he said pointing at Falman. "Is Uncle Vato, he's coming over tonight to help with Uncle Kain, and that man with the yellow hair is Uncle…" He looked at Sergeant Brosh, about to ask for his name when it hit him. "Denny. Uncle Denny. The lovely lady there is Aunt Maria, and the new guy is Uncle Jeff."

"You all work for him?" asked Zeke as he jerked a thumb at Roy.

"Yeah, and we're not the only ones either," added Havoc as he came to a stop before the boy. "Uncle Roy's got quite a few subordinates; we're just the ones that work directly under him."

"Is your office in here?" he asked as he eyed the crowded room with a touch of disapproval.

"Through this door, actually," replied Roy as he led the way, opening the door and ushering the pair through the smaller middle room where a lone desk sat. "That's where your Aunt Riza works. Normally we keep the doors open so she can keep an eye on me and the other men at the same time."

"Are people coming and leaving all the time?"

"Quite often, yes."

"Huh…" Roy opened the second door to reveal a spacious office with a large desk, two couches with a coffee table between them set in front of it and book shelves or glass display cases lining the walls. "Wow, this is pretty cool!"

"Some of the displays don't belong to me, this case of guns actually belong to your aunt she's just lending them to me to make it look more impressive," he explained as he pointed out various artifacts. "This shelf here of miniature tank replicas are from Uncle Kain, he was quite the collector as a kid and has many fine models that he rotates for me about once a month."

"Is that the Elric brothers?" Zeke asked as he pointed to a picture on one of the shelves, the frame holding Al and Ed as they sat on a couch and Roy standing behind them.

"Yes, it is."

"Whoa…"

"I have my mail, sir, we can leave whenever you are ready," said Riza as she entered the room, stuffing the last few envelopes in her purse.

"You won't kill the Major, will you?" he asked as she shuffled things around a little more, getting a wry glance.

"No, it's too messy to clean up," she replied simply. "But he had better learn to control his mouth before I return or that may quickly change."

"Good, Alchemists are hard enough to come by without you decreasing our numbers. And congratulations on the promotion, it's been a long time in coming."

"Thank you, sir, and if I've managed to put up with you for over ten years and not kill you, I think he will be safe for at least a little while," she pointed out as Beth came running in, immediately clinging to the newly appointed Lt. Colonel's leg.

"There's a man here with lots a medals!" she declared as Riza picked her up. "He had lots of men with him, big scary men…"

"Brigadier General Mustang?" called a familiar voice, Roy replying that he was there before the Fuhrer opened the door and both officers immediately went into a salute. "Please, you're not in uniform, though I am glad you are here. Who are these two?"

"Sir, this is Zeke and Beth Herndon, my new charges," Riza replied immediately, dropping the salute though she still remained fairly erect.

"Ah, so that is why you were called away? Pleased to make your acquaintances, Beth and Zeke. That is most understandable, though not why I am here." The old man put a hand to his mustache, stroking one hand slowly. "There has been a proposition of sorts…"

-0i0-

That's all for this week, folks. A bit of a cliffie, I know, but you only have a week to wait for the next part. Thanks a ton for the reviews, I hope I get just as many this time around. It makes my day hearing from you guys, and obviously it gets the chapters up pretty quick, right? Here's the Authors Notes!

Jacksparrow589 : Lucky, I wish had a grandma like Pinako. She totally kicks butt. Hopefully there were no mind-numbing assignments previous to this chapter, so you'll be a little more coherent when reading it. Thanks for the review!

The Tiramisu of Impending Doom : Thanks for the compliment! Yeah, Riza usually is all hard-core military and stuff, but I think in the manga that we really see that's only one side of who she is. I wanted to try something else with her, especially since Royai is pretty common on Yeah, I got hungry just writing this chapter, I think I went and wolfed some leftover pizza afterwards. It's just not the same. Hope your own writing is getting easier, and thanks for the review!

Bar-Ohki : Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

FFVII : Thanks for the many great compliments, you really look into the details, don't you? Don't worry, Zeke gets better as we go, he's just gotta adjust a bit to the whole situation first. Your support is greatly appreciated, and I hope it continues as I progress with this fic. Hopefully you won't ever accuse me of OOC-ness or get irritated with the way it progresses, but I will understand if you do. I'm not perfect, and I've never claimed to be. Thanks for the review, I hope you stick around for the long haul.

Ruki44 : Get ready to feel like smacking Riza some more. Yeah, she's a stubborn one I know, but her just giving in without putting up a fight totally neglects the entire part of their relationship where he disappears for two years and pretty much takes her heart with him. Thanks for the review!

Dennisud : An interesting ride indeed! While I can't really say any of what you suggested is gonna happen, I hope you still enjoy it. You'll understand in a chapter or two what I mean by that, but I wouldn't be hoping for t0o much from those areas were I you. Great to hear from you again, though, thanks for the review!

Aindel S. Druida : I actually think there may be some glitches when things are transferred over because there's been a couple chapters where I've really gone over them in detail and it still has errors in spelling when it appears on Thanks for the compliments, though, and the review!

SakuraAyanami : Yep, still updating and I'm doing the best I can to make it good! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Bizzy : Interesting name. Unique is what I strive for, and I'm glad to see at least one person picked up on the family vibes. Don't worry, there'll be a lot more of those coming around real soon. I hope this chapter was just as good as the others, thanks for the review!

OTP : Thank you for the many compliments, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the review!

blknblupanther1 : POOF! Wish granted, for the moment! I figure getting that next chapter once a week isn't so bad, no? Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy25 : There really is no such thing as a late review, and I'm glad to have it either way. Roy is the man for the job, he just has to convinced Riza of that now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Neopyrocitrine : Royai is a favorite of mine too. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Momiji-k : I really try to avoid the usual gimmicks people use when portraying popular characters like Roy and Riza. Thanks for saying that I succeeded! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review.

Anne Packrat : Oh I think a drinking contest with the boys at Central is inevitable, it just might be awhile before it comes around. : ) Thanks for the review!

Humor Queen Merc : Really, you can expect it around every Sunday-Monday or so, depending on your time zone and when I get to a computer. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Lili : Yeah, I agree that while the movie was good it totally lacked Winry/Ed Al/Whoever and Roy/Riza. Good story, totally unsatisfying. Thanks for the wonderful compliments; I hope this fic continues to meet your expectations. Thanks for the review!

Dailenna : Good for you! I think you might now hold the longest review, if you care, but I haven't actually checked the word counts against each other and it probably is close. That's what I get for letting you ramble, I guess: ) And oh yes, he knows he loves her, totally knows it, but that will become more apparent as we go along. Thanks for the many compliments, and just the review in general, they were really appreciated!

SxL : Thanks for the compliments and review, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Well, thanks all for now, folks. See you in a week!

CB

_Behind every great man is a great woman. _

-Anon.


	5. Chapter 5

Alright, so I know it's been longer than usual between updates, but I have a good excuse and wonderful news for you. My files have been in an unreachable place for the last couple weeks, I acquired them about a day ago, and I'm going to be updating multiple times this week until we're caught up to where we should be if I'd been updating once a week. Review replies are at the end, enjoy!

-090-

Five minutes later the four visitors found themselves at the arena in the back of Central HQ, a line of cadets at the shooting range starting the next round of the competition. "There are a few cadets this year who came close to beating your old records in the shooting evaluation," he explained as they watched them go through the motions of the contest, three falling out by the time they reached the seventh round and more than half gone by the time they reached ninth. "There's some who seem to think they could give you a run for your money…"

She looked at him in surprise. "Sir…I'm hardly dressed for such an event…"

"You keep a spare uniform here, don't you?" he offered. "And if you didn't bring your gun that's alright, all the contestants have to use the regulation issued firearm anyways."

"Please, you want her to shoot against new cadets?" snorted Zeke, talking loud enough that everyone relatively close could hear. "She's a woman; she'd probably screw up halfway into her first try and end up shooting someone instead of the target." Again, he somehow seemed to miss the 'shut up' signal Roy was giving him silently before plunging on. "I thought you were trying to set up a competition, not a joke."

The Fuhrer's brows rose slowly as Riza's face became a stone mask, handing Beth off to the Brigadier General before saluting firmly and announcing she would be ready in ten minutes. The sound of her retreating footsteps were the only sounds present for some time before Roy reached forward and smacked the boy on the back of the head hard enough to get his attention.

"Ow! What was that for?!" he cried as Roy dragged him closer, actually looking somewhat angry for the first time that Zeke could recall. "I didn't do anything!"

"No, you just publicly undermined the reputation of the Military's best sharpshooter," Roy hissed through a clenched jaw, bending over so they were eye to eye. "She was going to politely duck out, but thanks to you she has to compete now. And if there's one thing your aunt hates, it's a spectacle being made of her skills."

"She can't be that good, she's a woman!" Zeke protested as he turned back to the contest, lowering his voice only because the Brigadier General did. "She probably makes it to, what, the third? Fourth round before she gets out? I haven't even seen another woman compete since we got out here, they've all been men."

"You underestimate your aunt a great deal," the Fuhrer rumbled as he gave the boy an odd look before turning to leave. "I hope this proves to be educational for you, son, you certainly need it."

"What's going on?" asked Beth from where she clung to Roy's neck, the Brigadier General putting his free hand comfortingly to her back and rubbing it gently.

"Aunt Riza has to take part in one of the games, but it should only take a few minutes," he explained carefully, taking a seat on one of the benches along the sidelines as Zeke leaned against the fence grumbling to himself about stupid military people who didn't understand.

She rested her head against his cheek, watching the participants curiously. "How does the game work?"

"Well, see the people standing in line?" he said, pointing to the next group of cadets getting ready to start. "They each have sixteen targets circle targets, white on black in front of them in a block pattern and an official beside them. When the whistle blows they have so much time to shoot one of the targets through the white center before they have to move on. The official tells them when they've hit the white part and can move on. Each time they hit a target, they move back another two yards. Since they start at five yards that means if they make it all the way to the end they'll have hit all sixteen targets with the final one being a range of 40 yards or so. That's actually not that hard if you take your time, but the thing is the farther they go the less time they have to make the shot. You're out if you don't make it within three shots or if your time runs out."

"Who wins?"

"Whoever gets the furthest or, if two people make it all the way to the end whoever made it through the fastest." Roy watched as once against most of the group was weeded out by the middle section, the last one only making it thirteen back before they were out and that being one of the higher scores of the day. "Very rarely, two people will get out at the same place or finish at the same time. In that case, they go by the number of shots issues. The firearms they use have sixteen shots in their clips; to be able to finish the course with one clip is a matter of great pride." He looked at the girl who was staring at the course intently. "Did you understand all that?"

She looked up at him, smiling brightly. "Sorta."

He laughed, and tousled her hair gently. "Close enough."

Apparently word spread quickly because by the time ten minutes were up the number of people around the shooting range had nearly doubled, Roy spotting most of his subordinates clustered by the entrance around a familiar blonde head. She had left the coat off, her shoulder harness on as she tightened her gloves and spoke to Ross who was readying the gun for her. Checking the clip and the extra two she was to have stashed in her belt, she entered the lineup with four others, one of which Roy vaguely recognized as the announcer called the names of those participating. The face clicked with the name, it was the son of a rather famous alchemist, a Brigadier General that had been murdered by Scar years ago. Two others he had heard of in passing from some fellow officers as possible 'higher up' material some day based upon the examination results, but the fourth was a name he'd never heard before in his life.

The Fuhrer himself held the whistle to start, all five standing with their officials at the starting line and guns holstered in their preferred positions. The moment the sharp sound split the air all five were off, Riza immediately taking the lead though two of the four cadets managed to stay right on her tail. The halfway point was hit and all were still present though one had begun to trail behind and run dangerously close with his time. Two rounds later he was out, trudging towards the back after he missed with all three shots. The crowd cheered for him regardless, ten rounds was nothing to sneeze at and the tension was running high with the stakes at hand. If a cadet managed to unseat Riza even by a tenth of a second, the famous sniper with the eye of a hawk, they would go down in history. Conversely, if Riza lost her record would have a permanent scar regardless of the reason why or how close it was in the end.

Roy was pleased to notice Riza had pulled slightly more ahead and was still one for one with every target while the other three had been forced to shoot at least one extra bullet. Two more fell out in the thirteenth round, one from running out time as they fumbled changing their clip and dropped it to the ground and the other from missing after three tries. They were the alchemist's son and the other that he'd heard of, the one remaining being the only one he hadn't recognized in some shape or form. Fourteen passed as they both hit it dead on the first time and with fifteen they were neck in neck as Riza hit it on the first shot and moved on. The other guy missed and shot again, getting it and nearly tripping in his rush to get to the last round. Riza shot, ejecting her clip the moment her trigger finger was pulled as she reached for the extra clip. With the miss that she somehow sensed before it was called, her opponent was given just enough time to get into position and shoot at the same time as she fired her second shot…

One target held its hit dead center, the other just a touch too far off to the side to count. A final shot was issued, hitting dead center on the white dot, but it was too late.

The crowd erupted as Brosh and Breda rushed the field, hoisting the Lt. Colonel up before she could protest and parading her around on their shoulders as Roy raised his voice with everyone else in cheers. She convinced them, probably with the gun she still held that had fifteen bullets left in it, to set her down soon after and as Roy watched the crowd swirl around her he felt something tug his sleeve.

Zeke stood beside him, wide eyes staring at his aunt as if in complete and utter disbelief. "Did she…?"

"She'll probably complain that she needs to practice more, since she took two shots for the last one," Roy commented lightly, the boy balking at the thought of finding anything wrong with her performance. "That was very close, though; whoever that guy is he's got talent."

"You mean you didn't know?" asked Falman as he appeared beside them, a happy grin on his face as he counted the wad of bills in his hands. He'd made a killing with the bet that Riza would need seventeen bullets exactly. "That's Private Oliver Kants."

Roy just looked at him, blinking a few times. "Who's that?"

Falman laughed, shaking his head as he did. "Your new subordinate, or Riza's technically. He requested being put under her specifically, the official reason being he wants to learn from the greatest sharpshooter of our time. He's actually a horrible sniper, he doesn't have the patience, and that's one of the things she's supposed to train him in."

"Ah, that makes more sense, an alchemist for me to train and a gunman for her," admitted Roy as the party approached them, people drawing aside as Beth climbed down from his grasp and ran to grab onto Riza's leg.

"Hm? Oh, Beth." She was immediately picked up, Riza brushing back a few strands of her niece's hair as she smiled slightly. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"Yes, you were very good," the girl told her quietly in her ear with a smile. "Uncle Roy is very happy too."

"He would be," she muttered, cheeks faintly flushed from the attention her performance had attained. "It's probably time we headed back…"

"Lt. Colonel?" Riza turned around to find Private Kants behind her, saluting politely as before he said, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, ma'am, but I aim to beat you one of these days."

She looked him over, towering over her with a height of at least six feet, long brown hair that he kept tied at the base of his neck, sharp green eyes and a slightly cocky smirk that reminded her of a certain Brigadier General in a rather irritating manner and replied calmly, "I look forward to your attempts, Private, and hopefully one day your success." The young Private nodded, leaving as she turned back to the group surrounding her. Her eyes eventually found Zeke, the boy hanging back behind Roy with a somewhat guilty look on his face.

"So, Zeke, still think women don't belong toting guns?" asked the Fuhrer as he appeared behind the boy, somehow managing to escape the others notice as he leaned heavily on his cane.

"Targets and people are two different things," he defended himself faintly, the old man nodding sagely.

"Yes, they are, but the Lt. Colonel more than proved herself during the Ishabal war. She was only a Cadet then, finished her final year on the front lines and was probably the best sniper out there. Many lives were saved because of her sharp eyes and steady hands," the Fuhrer replied before sauntering off, his ever present guards discreetly following behind. "Do give her my congratulations, boy, she did a fine job."

"Time to go," said Riza as she headed towards the doors, the crowd dispersing as many had to get back to work and Roy and Riza still had much packing to finish before the day was through.

The three of them waited outside while she grabbed her clothes from the locker room, not bothering to change back when she would need to be in similar clothes when they arrived anyways. Roy continued to praise her the entire way back, enjoying her light blush in the rearview mirror, though Zeke was strangely silent while Beth occasionally interjected questions about what their uncle was saying or comments in general.

Upon reaching the apartment Riza banned all talk of the contest until later, citing the work that had been left undone for too long before sending Zeke with a box to pack up everything in the bathroom and Roy around the rest of the house to collect anything that belonged to her and hadn't been packed up. She tackled the remains of her bedroom, and by the time 6:05 pm had rolled around when Falman and Fuery showed up on foot to help load the last of it everything was packed.

Handing the key over to the landlord after a final check to be sure everything was as it should be, she loaded up in her car with Beth while Roy drove the truck with Zeke and Falman drove Roy's car with Fuery. A short while later they were pulling in front of the duplex, Riza parking in the driveway and Roy managing to get the truck in the space behind her while the men parked in the street.

Gracia was outside within seconds of their arrival, pulling first Roy then Riza into her warm embrace before she welcomed Zeke and Beth like old friends and ushered them all inside to where Elysia was waiting. The girl was on them like a monkey the moment they entered the door, Roy lifting her from the ground in a bear hug before she moved on to latch on to Riza's waist tightly.

"I missed you," she informed the woman seriously. "You said it wouldn't take that long."

Riza smiled apologetically, shifting the five year old in her arms so she wasn't in the way as she leaned down to hug her back. "I'm sorry; I honestly didn't think it would."

Beth and Zeke were introduced again, the two girls immediately finding fast friends in each other as Winry appeared on the stairs and quickly welcomed everyone as well. Gracia didn't give them much time for talk, scolding them for taking so long and handing out plates and cups as they partook of the food she'd laid out on the counter. The kids were set up at the kitchen table with Winry staying there to keep them company as the adults moved to the living room, Riza wondering as she eyed the place in a new light what the other half the duplex looked like as well.

"Eat, eat," the mother encouraged them as they found their seats. "I know it's not very fancy, but you must be hungry…"

"Did Riza tell you she wowed the crowd again with her guns?" asked Fuery between bites, more than hint of pride in his voice to be her subordinate. "Went head to head with our new Private, he's a sharp one but not quite as sharp as her."

"It took me a bullet more than it should have," she grumbled quietly, burying herself in her plate of spaghetti and salad with garlic bread. "I'll need to put in at least an hour this weekend; it's been too long since I've been to the range."

"You'd think she wasn't human the way she strives for perfection," Gracia teased her lightly, chuckling when the Lt. Colonel had the grace to blush slightly. "Roy mentioned something about a promotion."

"A double promotion," explained Falman. "Though it's about time, you've pretty much held that rank for the last two years anyways in practice if not in name."

"That's where she'd be if she'd accepted the previous promotions, too," Fuery added thoughtfully. "Mm, this is very good Mrs. Hughes, thank you."

"You're welcome, and congratulations Riza you've earned every bit of it," she replied with a smile. "Does anyone need something? More to drink?"

"I'd like to know what this is about refusing promotions," put in Roy, though his eyes were only for his Lt. Colonel. "Last time I checked, soldiers didn't refuse promotions."

"Unless they strip themselves of rank and exile themselves in the far reaches of the north," Riza said softly, the room growing quiet as she added. "It's in the past, sir, let it go."

He paused before nodding tersely, but it was still a few minutes of uncomfortable silence before Falman brought up the fall of the fraternization laws and how much of a relief it was not to go sneaking around anymore. Roy informed him he expected him to bring his lady friend around to one of their gatherings eventually, and the man quipped back he wouldn't want to lose the lady to Roy and so wouldn't be doing so any time soon.

"You'll have to see if there are any nice officers willing to take Riza on a date," Gracia commented as the said woman rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look, dear, your boys do their best but it's not the same having only a friend take you out."

"Maybe we could convince Private Kants to take her out, he seems infatuated enough with hero-worship to do just that," Roy jibed lightly.

"Only if you'll take out Major Marshall, sir, your new alchemist was practically forcing himself to impress you even if he did manage to nearly strangle himself with his foot in the process," Riza replied flatly, Fuery and Falman both laughing so hard they had to set their food aside as Gracia listened to the quick explanation the Brigadier General gave her. The picture he painted was slightly over dramatic, but true to the actual events so Riza left it alone.

"I'm sure he's a lovely man," the mother said as she put a hand on Roy's knee. "Though that would be one bet Havoc would lose as I believe he's been on the side of you being heterosexual all these years."

"I've been out with women only, why is there still a bet running on that?!" Roy cried in surprise. "I've never even given a hint…!"

"You are rather feminine at times, sir," coughed Falman as Fuery tried not to laugh again, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. "Such as the way you're checking your appearance in mirrors or being so finicky with your gloves…could give someone the wrong impression if they don't know you well."

"Well, for the record I am not gay," he muttered loudly, frowning as he did. "Women! I like women! How hard is that to understand?"

"You did spend a lot of time in your office with Fullmetal…" The words died in Fuery's mouth as Roy glared at him. "What?! That's what other people said; I never said I believed it!"

"Besides, you've never actually settled on a woman," Falman pointed out, shrugging when his superior officer threatened to visually eviscerate him. "Sir, I'm just saying…you've been out an awful lot, but you've never actually shown a preference for one above the rest. Some might take this as you're hiding something…"

"I think I need to go roast a few fellow officers on Monday," Roy growled as Beth trotted into the room, Winry and Elysia right on her heals.

"Can we go play upstairs?" Gracia's daughter asked, Winry adding that they'd finished all their food.

"Sure, just be careful not to make a big mess right before bed," Gracia replied as they headed up the stairs, Beth only pausing to kiss Riza's cheek and receive one in return before she headed up after them.

"I'd better check on Zeke, he may have fallen asleep at the table if he was tired enough," Riza said as she rose, taking her empty plate and that of Gracia's with her. Collecting Falman's and Fuery's as she passed them, Roy was still working on his salad so she left his alone and entered the small kitchen. Zeke sat at the table pushing a meatball around his plate, the spaghetti mostly gone but his salad untouched. "Is everything alright?" she asked as she sat next to him after ridding herself of the dishes, careful not to touch him though she leaned close with her head level with his.

"Come to gloat over your victory?" he scoffed softly, keeping his head down and his eyes on his plate.

"No, just to make sure you're alright," she replied as she put a careful hand on his back, continuing the contact when he didn't shrug it off. "Zeke…?"

"The Fuhrer said you were in the Ishabal war," he said suddenly, hands going still as he let go of the fork. "Is that how you met Uncle Roy? You fought in the war together?"

"No, I knew him as my father's apprentice," she replied slowly, one calloused hand clenching slowly. "My father was an alchemist, too."

"Oh…I had an uncle in the war." He paused as her brows rose slightly. "Well, not really an uncle, a friend of the family, they said he and his brother left when the fighting started to support their country…when he came back, he came alone and they said he was changed."

Riza nodded in understand, her voice a hint mournful. "War changes people."

"When dad used to say that women didn't belong in war, he would always disagree," Zeke went on. "He would say people don't belong in war that war is for monsters." He paused, looking up at Riza. "If war changes people, how did it change you?"

"It made me realize the lengths to which people will go to protect something they love or prove that they are right," she whispered as she gently ran a hand through his hair. "It also got rid of the illusion that the Military always works for the betterment of the people and that all alchemists use their talents for the good. But most importantly, I learned how easy it is to become a monster when those are the only ones who seem to survive."

"Are you a monster?" he asked as he looked up at her, eyes tinged with fear.

"No," she replied quietly, giving him a sad smile. "But I can be if it is required of me."

"Oh…"

"You guys alright?" asked Roy as he stuck his head in, noting the way Zeke shied from his aunt's touch before she slowly retracted her hand. "Riza, Gracia wanted to have a word with you about tonight's sleeping arrangements…"

"I'm coming," she said as she got to her feet, schooling her features into their usual mask as she passed him at the door. Taking her place at the table, he leaned back in the chair and watched as the boy picked up the plate and set it in the sink before standing in the middle of the kitchen looking rather lost.

"Come sit back down," he told the boy, putting a comforting hand in his shoulder when he was settled in. "Now, what's wrong?"

"She looked normal when I first saw her, carrying Beth in her arms," Zeke murmured as he stared at her hands. "Like she could be anybody's mom, or aunt, or sister…but just now, she said she could be a monster if she had to be. Is that true, Uncle Roy?"

"She is not the monster, I am," the Brigadier General explained slowly as he stood. "If you must blame someone or fear someone, let it be me, not her who was once an innocent girl who foolishly followed a man she swore to protect into a burning hell that would scar her forever." He sighed, running a hand over the eye patch as he walked out and murmured, "And yet I'm so thankful that she did…"

The boy sat there long after he left, thinking.

-0i0-

Gracia insisted on putting off all unpacking until the next day, Fuery and Falman leaving with a promise to return on the morrow with the rest of the men to help as Roy went with them as it was his car they were driving. If Zeke was especially quiet as she helped him set up a bed on the couch, no one said anything about it as Riza was upstairs getting Beth settled in the bottom bunk of Elysia's room. She would share with Winry and Black Hayate that night in the guest room double bed, something neither girl minded, as Gracia had given up her double bed for a single upon the move in.

Pulling on the pajamas she'd managed to dig out from one of her boxes, the Lt. Colonel sat on the single chair in the room and took apart her gun as Winry finished using the bathroom, looking at the many components as she carefully cleaned it as always.

"Are you alright?" Winry asked as she reentered the room, wiping her face on the towel around her shoulders as she watched Riza assemble the gun with a speed that still awed her no matter how many times she saw it. Black Hayate nosed his mistress from beside her, lying across the end of the bed with his head at her hip. "You seemed quiet earlier."

"Yes," Riza replied, looking up and giving her a flat smile. "Just…tired. I don't enjoy war game spectacles, yet it always seems like every year there's some new cadet that wishes to try and best the best. Occasionally, it will be a challenge like today. Usually, it's…not." _Usually it's a reminder that people with my skills most often are born of blood and death, not paper targets and ranges._

"Ok. How's the Brigadier General been behaving himself?" Winry's smile suddenly turned slightly devious. "Gracia said he was there all day today, he didn't try anything did he?"

Riza snapped the gun's clip, fully loaded, into place decisively. "He's not that stupid."

Winry laughed, her companion cracking a wry smile as she set the firearm within easy reach beside the bed. "Alright, has he at least been helpful? Seems like he's dedicating a lot of time to you and your…charges."

"Yes, he has, he showed up earlier this morning than I think he's ever come to the office," admitted Riza as she moved to the bed, sitting alongside Winry with a sigh. "Is it silly that it means something that he would come earlier to my house to help me pack than he shows up to work?"

Winry shook her head as her smile grew every so slightly. "No, it just means you're not as impervious to him as you thought."

"I never thought I was impervious to him, I just hoped I would be more…resistant," the sharpshooter grumbled as Gracia stuck her head in the door.

"Do you need anything else? More pillows, extra blankets?" the Hughes matriarch asked as she popped in, the light outside already turned off as Zeke was fast asleep on the couch. "You can open the window if you get too warm…"

"We're fine, Gracia, thank you," Riza interrupted gently, giving her a warm smile as she absently scratched her dog behind the ears. "You've done more than I can repay already."

"Please, there will be no talk of payments from those who are like family," Gracia replied brusquely, her smile suddenly turning very sly. "Unless of course you're willing to let me set you up on a blind date with a friend of mine…tall, dark and handsome, almost an exotic look with the Xing blood from his mother's side and the best 'devil may care' smile you've ever seen…"

"I'm not going on a blind date with my superior officer," the Lt. Colonel cut in sharply. "You of all people should understand that, those of us who support the Brigadier General have to make sacrifices that his dream may be realized some day."

"According to Falman, there wouldn't be any consequences anymore," Gracia argued with a small grin. "And don't use that 'sacrifice' card on me, Maes may have given his life for the cause, but that doesn't mean you have to give your happiness as well."

"I am happy!" Riza growled in a very unhappy manner, the other two both bursting into quiet fits of laughter as she was forced to admit that it was rather amusing herself. "Alright, alright…but truly, I am happy. I have a good job with caring coworkers that allows me to feel like I am making a difference." A wet nose filled her hand and she chuckled. "A loyal dog." She put a hand over Winry's briefly and nodded in Gracia's direction. "And good friends that are there to help me along the way. If I cannot be content with that do I deserve to have anything beyond it?"

"It's not a question of what you deserve, it's a question of what you want," Gracia scolded lightly. "When was the last time you forgot duty and did what you wanted instead?"

"Over two years ago, and then he turned around and left," the Lt. Colonel snapped bitterly, immediately regretting it when Gracia flinched slightly, her teasing smile falling into a pursed frown. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said it like that…"

"No, you're right, he's hurt you in the past," the mother broke in gently. "It's just I know how much he means to you…"

The sharpshooter groaned, mumbling to herself, "Far more than he should."

"And," Gracia added as she slowly backed out the door. "How much you mean to him." She nodded to them both. "I'm right down the hall if you need me. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Riza didn't say anything as she sat there and stared at her hands, Winry briefly laying a hand on her arm and giving Hayate a on the head pat before she got up and turned off the light. Crawling into bed, the other woman joined her a few minutes later as the house settled into silence, but whether the Lt. Colonel actually slept was another matter entirely.

-0i0-

Zeke had rarely slept a full night through since he was seven, his mind jerking him from his rest at the deepest hours of the night while the shadows stared at him with sightless eyes. At first he had tried to deal with it himself, but after several sleepless nights of wandering the house when his restless mind wouldn't relax enough to let him sleep no matter how much his mind needed it his father found him in the kitchen while going for a glass of water and offered a cure. It wasn't a pill, and it didn't always work, but his father would pull him into his lap and read him verses from an old book of poetry and short stories. The pages were hand-bound, and the words written in a thin, spidery script with an ink quill that had spattered and blotted in some places. The words soothed his mind, settled it enough that he was able to sleep.

The book had stayed from that night on beside his bed, pages dog-eared as he found the most effective passages to peacefully smooth things over and a candle always ready for the late-night reads. Occasionally his father would join him, usually not, but he was always there when the late night restlessness was at its worst.

What he hadn't known was the book of verses and stories had been written by his grandmother in her youth, and upon her death in the early stages of the plague his father had taken the slim volume back and had it buried with her. The originals, he said, were at her house. He promised to fetch them for his boy, make a new book that he could read from, but he had died without fulfilling the request. The poetry he remembered finding among the boxes of things they'd gone through, Riza had packed it up and put it in storage for later. He hoped to be able to get to it soon, to copy it for himself in a hand bound paper book. But before that day in those three months of living with the Governor and his wife he had experienced nights much like those in the beginning.

He was older now then he had been when it all started, more able to force his body to do things, but he would still awaken every night sometime after the clock stuck twelve and for at least an hour he would lie there and wait for sleep to come to him again.

This night was no exception, and as he sat up with a sigh he was somewhat concerned he probably wouldn't sleep for a couple hours at least. New places usually did that to him, even with as tired as his body was right then. Tomorrow night, maybe he'd sleep well back in his own bed and his body exhausted from the rigors of setting up rooms. As quietly as he could, he slid out from under the covers and padded silently to the kitchen for a drink of water.

The glasses were easy to reach, the faucet thankfully quiet, and as he gulped down the cool drink and set the empty cup beside sink he felt the nervous tension in his brain fizzle slightly. Maybe it wouldn't be too long after all. The trip back he was just rounding the corner when a dark shadow appeared in front of him, only a quick hand covering his mouth and strong arms holding him still keeping him from waking the rest of the house.

"It's me," a voice whispered in his ear, the body relaxing as it recognized a familiar sound even though his mind took a while to place a name with it. Riza. What was she doing up?

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked in a soft murmur as she let him go, the boy shaking his head as he blinked owlishly and tried to pull together his scattered thoughts. She was wearing pajamas that were not what he had expected. Of course, the only thing he had to base his opinions on of female nightwear were the long nightgowns his mother had worn, with similar ones adorning his sister and cousins and the lacey, see-through strappy things he had seen in a catalogue Geordie had found in his father's desk. Neither of those seemed to fit her in his mind, but light blue drawstring pants with a matching button down long sleeved top much like the Governor had worn hadn't occurred to him either.

Eventually he shook his head, seeing she was waiting for an answer as she put an inquiring hand on his forehead. Apparently he passed muster because she removed it after a moment's pause and let it hang by her side once more. "You?" he asked hesitantly when a silence fell between them, thick in the dark shadows of the living room.

She shook her head slightly. "I'm not tired," was all she replied, but the circles under her eyes belied otherwise. He nodded in understanding, staying there dumbly until she spoke again. "You're not sick, and you look tired," she sighed as she led him back over to the couch. "Lay down, I'm sure you'll get back to sleep soon."

He was tempted to fight her, to refute her words, to say he probably wouldn't sleep until the sun was up again, but suddenly his limbs felt too heavy to hold up for much longer. "Ok." Lying down on his back, he stared up at her as she hesitated over him, carefully pulling the blanket up to his chin and smoothing it over gently when he didn't protest.

"Relax," she said as she sat next to him on the coffee table, settling a few errant hairs out of his eyes and noting the way his face smoothed over with the action. Running her fingers along his scalp, he sighed and snuggled further under the covers as she watched the signs of consciousness begin to disappear from his body.

"I don't think…" he murmured as he turned towards her slightly, eyes cracking open slightly. He fell silent as his breathing became even deeper, his caretaker almost convinced of his sleep when his hand came up and rested on hers.

"Zeke?"

"I don't think you're a monster," he breathed as his eyes opened wider ever so slightly. "I don't think Uncle Roy is a monster either…"

"Why not?" she asked barely above a whisper, a little curious of his answer and somewhat surprised that the boy even remembered the conversation as close to sleep as he was. "We have both done terrible, monstrous things."

"Because you still love…and monsters can't love…" His eyes closed as he sighed, his hand sliding back down to rest on his chest. "I don't want to like you…" he whispered so quietly she almost missed it. Her head tilted to the side as she removed her hand, almost asking why when he added, "You're not my mom…or my dad…"

"I'm not trying to replace them," she replied flatly. "I know that I can't."

"Heh…you are…" His head turned away slightly as it burrowed into the pillow. "Because you're here, and they're not…I don't want to like you…but I think someday I will…"

If his Aunt was startled by this or had any particular thoughts, he would never know because he had been led safely back to the fold of sleep and would not leave again until morning.

-090-

And that my friends is chapter 5. I hope you'll forgive me for the time it took to update, but it truly was out of my hands. Be on the lookout in the next 24 hour for chapter 6!

Reviews:

Kurissyma san Tybalt : Updated! Thanks for the reviews, I hope you were sufficiently revived enough to enjoy this latest chapter. :)

-Kai Isolated- : My apologies for the long update, but that you oh so much for the kind review! You may think several people deserve to be shot in the next few chapters, but that is usually the case when Riza deals with the men in Roy's command. : ) I'm glad you found this story worthy of your time, I hope it continues to do so.

Dennisud : Sorry you had to wait this long, but I hope you enjoyed the way the next chapter answered some of your questions! (Sort of…) Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the next installment!

Kuroxdoragon : That is rather evil of me, isn't it? In the middle of a sentence, I never even thought of it that way before. Hope you enjoyed the chapters, and thanks for the reviews!

FFVIII : Aww, thanks for the supporting flag! Hope everyone's still not OOC and that the continue story has met with your continued satisfaction!

The Tiramisu of Impending Doom : Your reviews always make me smile extra-big. Thanks for recognizing the fact that I'm trying for something new with Roy and Riza, especially with the kids. Royai is nice, but you can only read so many 'sudden statements of undying love' before they get old. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for the review!

Leigh : Thanks for the review, and yes I suppose Zeke and Beth are a little like Kisa and Hira from FB, though I hadn't thought about it before. Glad you enjoyed the story, hope the next chapter lived up to your expectations!

Silver Wurm : Aw, thanks for the very high praise, and wonderful review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

LuvInu88 : Omg! Thanks for the review! Please give me more:)

SakuraTearDrop : Personally, I think the reader has to be more patient when the story is coming out chapter by chapter like this, but thank you for your very kind words. I love Beth too. : ) Here's up the update, thanks for the review!

Humor Queen Merc : For the record, in the FMA world there is no rank of 'Captain', no one ever holds it and it is never mentioned in any part of the series. Therefore, she only really bypassed the rank of 'Major'. Why is Captain left out? I don't know, but I hope that helps swallow that particular detail. Also, I'm thinking the Military there doesn't quite work like ours, and no matter what Riza Hawkeye will always be Roy Mustangs personal aide, even if he's the Fuhrer and she's been pushed to the rank of General. But that's just me. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the update!

Ruki44 : If you haven't figured out who the new Fuhrer is by now, you'll just have to wait until later. : ) And yeah, Riza won't kill Marshall, and he'll torture himself over it plenty without her ever having to lift a finger. Thanks for the review!

Hunter-Robin : Thanks for your many wonderful compliments, I enjoyed your review greatly. : ) Hope you enjoyed the next installment!

Dailenna : Love the long reviews! I hope I earn another one, even if this one did take forever and a day to come around. I have to say I don't think anyone else really reviews while they're reading the chapter, so I have to commend you for that in and of itself. Then again, how are you going to remember all you wanted to say, right? I gotta say, I loved the irony of the frat laws being gone and Roy and Riza just happening to come in with children the next day. It made my day at least. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter, and can't wait to hear from you again!

Blknblupanter1 : So sorry it was longer than a week, but you get more than one chapter this week, so…I hope it makes up for it? Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the update!

Bar-Ohki : Oh yes, the kids get to see far more military stuff then they probably want to. :) Especially Zeke when it comes to Riza. Hope you enjoyed it!

Jacksparrow589 : I hope this chapter answered at least part of your question and a half. Lucky you, asking it right before it happened! You didn't read my mind, did you:P Hope you enjoyed the update, and thanks for the review!

Momiji-k : Aw, glad to be of service my friend! I know what it's like to crave a particular pairing or story line and find one that just hits the spot. Hope you enjoyed the next part, and thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy25 : Once more, if you haven't figured out who the Fuhrer is, and there are plenty of hints lying around as to who, you're gonna have to wait and see:) Gotta keep some secrets to myself, right? Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Bizzy : I think Havoc is one of the few who can get away with that, right? Think about it, any one else other than Roy and she really might have shot them. :P Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

SxL : Hope you were satisfied with Riza's performance! Thanks for the review, it was much appreciated.

OTP : My dear, there is no such thing as a nice cliffie, though if I had known how long it would be before I would update I never would have done so in the first place. It was rather mean of me. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for the review.

MoonStarDutchess : Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Until next time, my friends.

CB

'Out of the goodness of my heart...'

Glinda the Good Witch, _Wicked_


	6. Chapter 6

Just about a day, right? A day between updates isn't bad, and there's at least three more coming after this in short order. :) Thanks for those of you who reviewed in this short time, replies are at the end, and I hope you enjoy it!

-0i0-

Winry woke to an empty bed, changing into fresh jeans and a shirt before padding barefoot down the stairs and finding a sleepy but dressed Gracia putting coffee on with the sun barely over the horizon.

"Riza went over to her new home an hour ago, I heard her moving around while it was still dark," their hostess explained as Winry poured herself some milk from the fridge. "Some days I just don't know what to do with her…"

"She loves the Brigadier General, doesn't she?" asked the mechanic carefully as she took a seat.

"Just as much as I love Maes, that man of mine used to joke that someday she would draw the line with Roy." Gracia paused as she pulled down some mugs, a thoughtful frown in place. "I just never thought I would be here to see the day when she would."

"I didn't want to like her, the first time I met her," admitted Winry as she helped pull out the eggs and flour with oil and milk, Gracia getting a round pan as she turned on the stove. "She was military, and in my mind trying to take Ed and Al away from me. The first thing I asked her was if she'd ever killed someone…she was honest, said yes she had. And that every time she pulled the trigger, it was her choice and she didn't regret it. But that she only did it because she had someone she had to protect with everything that she had, even if it meant another had to die by her hand." She poured the specified amounts into the mixing bowl and handed it with a whisk to their hostess. "There was something in her eyes that made her more…human, and somehow I knew she was talking about the then Lt. Colonel Mustang."

"The first time I met her it was at a train station, Maes was coming back to Central from the Ishabal war and Riza and Roy were traveling with him before being assigned at Eastern," Gracia murmured as she mixed the lumps out of the batter and checked how hot the greased pan was. "She was more closed off then, but she tried to be friendly for Maes' sake. The three of them stood there like wary dogs, unsure if it was safe to really let their guards down yet even in the middle of Central. Even then she was always at his side, supporting him when she could barely support herself through the horrors they'd seen and experienced."

"S'there food?" mumbled Zeke as he shuffled into the kitchen, still in his drawstring pants and t-shirt that he slept in with his hair flipping up on the side that he'd slept on. "S'hungry…"

"We'll have some pancakes for you in just a minute," Gracia replied from the stove, chuckling in amusement at his appearance as she flipped the half-cooked circles of batter. "Winry, would you go get Riza? It's right through that door there, it's the space with the water heaters, and she'll be there on the other side."

"Yeah, be back in a sec."

Making her way through the dark passage, Winry emerged into a living room that was the mirror image of Gracia's sans the furniture. In its place she found a forest of stacked boxes, oddly shaped lumps covered in old sheets and the shadows of a room only lit by the gray dawn light through the windows. "Riza…?"

"Up here," she heard from the railing overhead, the said woman peering down at her bearing a load of boxes. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Ok."

Taking the moment to explore a bit with the new owner preoccupied, Winry stuck her head in the kitchen to find it exactly like Gracia's as well, though devoid of any decoration or color and a large space towards the front where a table would probably go. Riza appeared beside her wearing similar clothes to the day before, old uniform pants and shirt that no longer passed muster in the office but were fine for day to day use when one anticipated getting dirty.

"Do you mind helping for a moment? I'm trying to get all Zeke and Beth's boxes to their rooms," she said as she motioned to the three that were left in a pile by the stairs. "Everything else can stay down here for the moment."

"Yeah, sure."

It only took another trip with the two of them working at it, so it wasn't long before they rejoined the others on Gracia's half around the kitchen table. Elysia and Beth had found their way downstairs sometime during that time, still in their pajamas, and with the kids at the table and the women standing around holding their plates that was how the men found them when they arrived a little while later.

Fuery and Falman just stuck their heads in for a quick hello before going and starting to unload the truck. The boxes were marked, so it wasn't hard to figure out where to put them, and the furniture was fairly self-explanatory as well. Ross arrived with Breda and Havoc a little while later, Brosh stuck doing some make up work at the office getting Kants settled in, and Roy characteristically rolling in last of all though he made up for it with a box of donuts that was gone as soon as it was open. Marshall, apparently, had been invited to come and help but upon learning it was for the Lt. Colonel Hawkeye had replied that he doubted she wanted anything to do with him and made himself scarce for the rest of the day.

Riza, of course, was the head of the operation and spent most of her time directing where things were to go or what people could do next as box after furniture piece after box was brought in. Roy disappeared upstairs with Zeke and Elysia and Gracia with Beth, both unpacking their rooms and setting things up with the occasional help from others the way they wanted it to go. Boxes or furniture for Riza's room where set inside but not opened on pain of death, the Lt. Colonel arguing she could settle herself in later. Havoc was sent to the kitchen as he knew how her old one was set up, and Ross was sent to help him as she had a better understanding as a woman of where things might go if he wasn't sure. Winry was given the task of unpacking the bathroom boxes and splitting the contents between the upstairs and downstairs ones, though she left the one directly connected to Riza's bedroom alone.

Breda and Fuery all helped shove everything off to the sides in the living room as Riza and Falman carried in one of the rugs they'd procured from Zeke and Beth's house, a giant circle of rich browns and russet reds with gold hints that easily spanned the width of the room and almost two thirds of the length. It was set towards the center, with Riza's couch and the one they'd added from the other house making a square with two overstuffed chairs from the children's father's library and the stairs. A coffee table that had also come from their old house went in the center and a small circular table went at the corner of the couches and between the two chairs. A bookshelf Riza had had in her apartment went along the front wall to the right of the front door coming in, and perpendicular to it just before you came to the stairs was a thin table that sat along the wall with small shelves underneath it and a mirror above.

It was lunch time by the time all that had been accomplished, Zeke yelling from the top of the stairs that he and Beth's beds were finally put together and Roy adding that he wasn't as useless as people thought with tools. The look on Gracia's face belied otherwise, but further conversation was stopped by Brosh and Kants arriving and bearing enough food to feed an army between the two of them. Riza frowned at the way they brought in the bountiful feast without her permission (or letting her help pay for it) but remained silent when Winry quietly reminded her that it was probably their way of showing their appreciation of her. The coffee table in between all the couches was spread with more sandwiches, bags of chips, and cans of soda as everyone found seats on the furniture or boxes or chairs brought in from the kitchen. Talk mainly revolved around the settling in of the newest members of the Brigadier General's command and Riza's two new charges.

Private Kants didn't say much himself, only responding when spoken to and spending most of his time surveying the scene from a slight distance. The camaraderie among these soldiers was beyond anything he could have hoped for, really. He had heard horror stories in the Military Academy, even of the Flame Alchemist and his aide. The people you didn't want to be assigned to because they were impossible to please or constantly sending their people out on dangerous missions without regard for their safety. This wasn't a group of subordinates with their commanding officers, though; this was a group of friends. Maybe even a family.

Not in the 'mother, father, and kids', sense, though. This seemed to be more like a large group of siblings or cousins. The Brigadier would, obviously, fill the roll of the oldest, leading them wherever they needed to go without fail. The Lt. Colonel would then be the oldest female, and regardless of who was 'older' than her she held the second spot in ladder simply because she treated them with a mix of sisterly mothering that held them together when the Brigadier General's orders could not. He gave them the drive and the dream; she gave them the heart and the hope.

"Enjoying the view?" asked Havoc as he appeared beside the new recruit, unusually quiet in his movements despite his method of transportation. He leaned back in the chair and absently balanced on two wheels as he watched with Private Kants the sight of Riza scolding Breda for trying to teach Zeke how to balance an open can of soda on his head and nearly spilling it all over the place in the process. "You're lucky, you know, you're getting to know her out of uniform before you have her over you in the office."

"That much of a difference, sir?" Kants replied lightly, unable to stop the smile that spread across his face as Winry skipped across the back with Beth clinging to her back towards the kitchen.

"You'll understand come Monday morning next week," Havoc said simply, leaving it at that as he followed the Private's gaze back to the young Miss Rockabell. "Taking an interest in our temperamental mechanic, kid?"

"Huh?" Private Kants looked back at him, flushing slightly. "Oh, uh…she's really nice. You said she's from out of town…?"

"She only knows us because she was Edward Elric's childhood friend," Havoc explained with a laugh. "That guy kept screwing up his automail, and she'd come all the way from Risembool to fix it every time."

"She works with automail?" the younger man replied, looking a little surprised. "She seems young to be an actual mechanic…"

"Don't tell her that, she might chuck a wrench at you," the lieutenant joked as he took a drink from his can. "Incredible aim, too, you'd think her and Hawkeye were sisters sometimes the way they act…"

"Was she…involved with the Elric brothers?" Kants asked cautiously, studying his superior as he awaited the answer. Havoc looked at him out of the corner of his eye, lips curling slyly as realization sparked in his mind.

"You thinking about asking her out?" he guessed with a smirk, the tips of Kants ears burning slightly. "Well, she's not seeing anyone as far as I know. There was something going on between her and Ed, but he's disappeared back through the gate and I think it's safe to say we won't be seeing him again in this lifetime."

"So…" The young man debated on how to interpret that, seeing as he wasn't sure what the officer was actually talking about, and finally ventured, "She's free?"

Havoc snorted and rolled his eyes. "Apparently."

Both men laughed as Breda freaked out at Black Hayate streaking towards him across the room because of a ball the Brigadier General had thrown. Riza, of course, cut him a dangerous look and the man had the grace to look sheepish for the resulting mess but it was Winry who offered to clean up the spilled chips and plates as everyone began to move back towards their jobs. If Kants was more enthusiastic than would generally be considered polite interest to help, no one said anything. Fuery moved upstairs to help Zeke and Beth with the room work and Maria Ross was allowed into Riza's room to help her start setting up her things. Falman and Breda, who had known her apartment very well before, were given the boxes of books to place on the tall bookcase she had set against the front wall (arranged by subject and in alphabetical order, of course), and Havoc was given the task of arranging the one box of pictures she'd had set up in the apartment around the new duplex.

Winry, when finished with the lunch pickup, was asked to help Ross and Riza assemble a bed, and the somewhat disheartened Kants was invited to come along with Havoc to the grocery store for a few basics as Riza's kitchen was frighteningly bare with some milk, juice, a few eggs, some bread and butter being the only things left from her apartment. Riza had given him a list and money, but Havoc told the young man on the way out the door he intended to leave the cash waiting for her in a mug later and add a few fun things for the kids to the list.

Fuery had a date, much to his coworker's surprise, with the same secretary he'd won the bet over earlier that week and was forced to bow out just as the sun set, Falman leaving with him as they'd driven together. Breda had promised some family to visit for dinner, so he wasn't too long in leaving after the first pair, and Ross and Brosh left about thirty minutes after that for another gathering of friends they'd planned to attend earlier that week.

The duplex felt a lot emptier when Havoc and Kants returned, finding Roy and the kids seated at the kitchen table snacking on some fruit Gracia had cut up with Hayate seated at their feet while the three women continued behind the closed door to Riza's bedroom.

"I'm not allowed in," Roy explained with a small grin. "They seem to think I would be more troublesome than helpful…"

"You are known for being difficult to work with," Havoc admitted as he chewed on a cigarette, smirking as his superior officer sputtered excuses much to the children's amusement. Opening the fridge, he piled in the extra milk and juice they'd purchased, adding the few cans of soda left from earlier. Bread, flour and sugar were placed on the correct shelves, boxes of dry cereal and dry pasta finding their own places as the vegetables and fruit were placed in their proper bins in the fridge. A box of cookies Riza had not asked for Havoc showed to the delighted children before pouring the contents it into a cookie jar the said woman rarely used and wondering how long it would take for the Lt. Colonel to realize what had happened.

"I will tell her it was you if she asks," Roy warned from his seat at the table, popping a slice of apple in his mouth. "Especially after that last comment."

"Yessir, I suspect she'll just glower at me and then eat one herself, it's one of her favorite kinds," his subordinate replied cheekily and popped one chocolate studded circle in his mouth, Kants smothering a smile as he watched the two banter back and forth. Definitely a group of siblings, he decided, with a mutual respect and understanding all around.

"You need to wash it out," a voice interrupted as the bedroom door opened, all three women emerging as Gracia tried to fuss over something on Riza's hand and the woman kept brushing her aside firmly.

"I know, I just need the antiseptic from the medical box and some bandages," Hawkeye replied a bit curtly, obviously finding the fuss and bother to be a silly thing. "It should only take a moment."

"What happened?" asked Roy, standing as Riza quickly skirted past them to the sink, putting the back of her hand under the cold water as she flipped on the faucet.

"A metal lockbox slipped while we were moving something and the corner caught the back of her hand," Winry explained as she helped Beth finish her last few pieces of orange. "It's just a deep scratch…"

The Brigadier General didn't need to hear any more than that, accepting the medical kit Havoc had wisely retrieved from the cabinet and pulling Riza's hand from under the water despite her protests that she could handle it herself to inspect it. Winry had been right, it had already stopped bleeding and could hardly be called a cut, but it stretched across the length of the back of her hand and he hated to see anything marring her flawlessly white skin.

Everyone wisely ignored them as he trapped Riza's wrist with his hand to the counter, using his free hand to open the kit and procure the needed bottle of antiseptic. Rubbing a small amount along its length, he covered it with a thin pad and taped it down before letting her free.

"Hey, chief, you hungry?" called Havoc before Riza could berate Roy for helping when he wasn't needed. "I'm thinking pizza, and there's this great place right down the road…"

"Poppa's Pizza?" asked Elysia, suddenly very excited. "Can we go, mom? Please?"

"It depends on who else is going," Gracia replied with a smile. "How about it, Riza? It is getting late, and neither of us has anything started for dinner."

"Pizza sounds fine," the Lt. Colonel replied as she rubbed a hand over the Brigadier General's work. He'd been very gentle, she remembered with a faint flush, and the feeling of his hand on her wrist hadn't been exactly unpleasant. "If you two don't mind, that is."

"Can we get sausage pizza?" asked Zeke as Beth just beamed from her seat. "I love sausage pizza!"

"You get your own pizza there," explained Elysia as Havoc turned to Winry and Kants with a knowing look.

"Well, are you two in?"

"Of course, where else would I go?" replied Winry with a smile, looking at Kants who flushed slightly under her gaze. "How about you?"

"I-I'll come," he replied, turning a brighter red at the way his voice cracked slightly as he cleared his throat. "That is, if no one else minds…"

"The more the merrier!" replied Havoc as he threw his hands in the air. "C'mon, guys, I know it's a Sunday night but it'll still be crowded."

It took two cars to transport them all, Havoc riding with Riza and the three kids all in the back as her car had a trunk for his wheelchair. Roy drove the other car with Kants beside him in the front and Winry and Gracia in the back, the older man amusedly watching the way the younger man watched the back seat with his side mirror at the two women talking there animatedly.

"So," said Havoc the minute they were in the car, the kids in the back too busy discussing their pizza choices to hear what was being said in the front. "How was the trip with the chief, really?"

"Hard," admitted Riza, knowing Havoc knew her to well to believe a straight lie, especially after their time together in Ishabal. "But manageable. It's been interesting since then…"

"He's taken to the kids and them to him," the soldier observed as they moved through traffic. "He really would make a great dad…" She shot him a look, one he recognized all to well with a sigh. "Hawkeye…Riza…c'mon, you know I know."

"Then you know why I can't," she replied with a finality that left no room for further discussion. "How is your pursuit of the elusive Sheska going?"

"Nowhere," he grumbled, letting her change the subject for the moment. "She thought I was joking the first time I asked her out. The second time she turned me down for a book. For a friggin' book!"

"Language," Riza warned quickly, glancing at the kids who were talking animatedly in the backseat with the rearview mirror. "I won't have those two learning your rough tongue while they're living under my roof."

"Yes, ma'am…"

The pizza place was crowded, as Havoc had predicted, but it didn't take long for them to get a table and with all of them seated in a circle it made for an interesting picture inside. Beth and Zeke sat together, with Riza beside Beth and Elysia beside Zeke. Roy, of course, was on Riza's right and Havoc's left and Gracia sat between her daughter and Winry. Kants completed the circle between the chair bound solider and the blonde mechanic, looking decidedly elated and yet uncomfortable as Winry brushed against him briefly when reaching for a straw.

"Five bucks says he asks if he can see her again after dinner," Havoc murmured to Roy when Riza was distracted with Beth.

"No, he won't," Roy replied with a shake of his head. "Nice guy, but no backbone when it comes to girls, like Fuery."

Havoc paused, his lip curled as he sucked on his teeth. "I really think he likes her, though. Ten?"

Roy nodded a confident smirk in place. "Ten."

"Sir, you wouldn't be doing something that might cause problems later, would you?" Riza asked as the Brigadier General lounged in his seat, hooking one arm over the back.

"No, just a friendly…disagreement with Havoc," he replied with a shrug. "Either way, I don't think things will change much."

"Very well…"

"You know," said Gracia, bringing everyone's attention back into focus. "I'm curious to know more about your new Private. I don't think you've ever been assigned someone fresh out of the academy."

"Not true, Fuery came to us right out of the academy," pointed out Havoc, punctuating the statement with a nod. "But I gotta admit I'm a little curious, too. Where'd you come from, sharpshooter?"

"Uh, Northern, actually," he admitted with a faint flush, unused to being the center of attention and well aware that three of his superiors plus a girl he found very attractive were at the table. Suddenly wondering if coming along was such a good idea, he continued, "I'm the youngest of five sons, and with the oldest getting the farm there wasn't much there to hold me down."

"How old are you?" asked Roy as he sized the boy up a bit. "You look young to be out of academy already, actually."

"Nineteen, my father signed for me so I could join early," he admitted with a sheepish shrug. "Most people don't graduate until they're twenty, twenty one. Older if they join late."

"Ah…"

"Unless you're a State Alchemist," stuck in Havoc with a smirk, "Then you can be lazy as anything, not put in two or three years at the academy and just make pretty sparks to get an automatic promotion from the judges to Major. I've been putting in overtime for a couple of years now plus the time in the war and going to the academy and I still don't have that rank."

"Hey," protested Roy with a scowl. "I worked hard to make those sparks! You try manipulating molecular makeup sometime; it's not as easy as it looks."

"Yeah, and I can do the same thing with my lighter," Havoc shot back with a snort, pulling out the said object and flicking the top of it. "Look, pretty sparks! Not only that, but I'm not useless in the rain."

"That's what Hawkeye's for," he grumbled as he rolled his eyes, Riza just shaking her head as Beth asked what they were talking about. "I ought to write you up for insubordination…"

"Be careful, sir, or people may think you don't like your subordinates," said Riza with a straight face, sipping her water lightly. "You wouldn't want to give your new private the wrong impression."

"I don't, at least not him," he replied with a pouting scowl, putting his back to the man. "Havoc could take a lesson from Private Kants, he doesn't try and make fun of his superior officer."

"He just hasn't learned how lazy you are yet," Havoc replied with a snort.

"Actually, the Brigadier General's work ethic, or lack there of, is somewhat legendary among those preparing for their first assignments," put in Kants with a nervous cough. "There are a few assignments people pray they do not receive, yours isn't considered the worst but it isn't that far off by those who don't know better…"

"Whose ranked number one?" asked Havoc curiously. "I know when the guy was still alive people at Central hoped with everything they had not to be put under Brigadier General Basque Grand."

"There is supposedly a Brigadier General out in Southern that is frighteningly strict with his subordinates," Kants explained as he took a drink of his iced tea. "And Lt. General Hakuro has never been considered to be a good task master. Many possibilities of promotion, yes, but he has a reputation for valuing his subordinates based upon their ability to reflect well on him. At the other end of the spectrum, there is a Lt. General at Northern and a Colonel at Western that are considered 'dead ends'. Unless you manage to save the Fuhrer's life or something equally grand you will be stuck in the same rank doing the same job regardless of your skills and talent until the day you retire."

"That is the problem with the military, so much of the evaluation processes are subjective," said Roy with a frown. "I don't consider much of what I've done over my career as extraordinary or positive, yet somehow I keep getting promoted."

"A great many people feel the same way, sir," replied Riza as she gave a ghost of a smile.

They managed to order a few minutes later with a minimum of trouble, the only hitch being they were out of anchovies, much to Havoc's dismay and everyone else's relief. The place's specialty was personal pizzas just about the size of a plate, and with everyone able to pick their own toppings there were no arguments about what one should order. The food was quick to arrive, and even quicker to disappear as moving boxes and furniture tended to give people a good appetite.

"I completely forgot to ask, how is the reconstruction going?" asked Roy as he nibbled on his last crust, his plate empty save a few crumbs and even those where being thoughtfully eyed. "I noticed everything around the train tracks and rail station was completed.

"We're about 95 finished with the first phase," Havoc replied as he scratched the back of his head. "Crews are going to be put on a once a month rotation after this last stretch of homes and streets are repaired. Their shift will be half days for a single week, then three off before they go again. Those crews will be techs like Fuery and people with construction skills like Falman, working to repair buildings that weren't completely destroyed but only require a little work to get them in top shape again."

"So we're loosing Fuery once a month for a week," Roy grumbled to himself. "Are the alchemists still going to be doing work?"

"No sir, at least not after this week. In fact the only people on crews this week are Falman, Ross and Breda."

"How long is this next phase to last?" asked Riza, already reworking some of their office schedules in her mind for when Fuery and possibly Falman would be absent.

"Another six months or so supposedly but it'll probably be another year, after that they'll implement 'Phase Three', which is supposed to entail groups of officers given community service projects once a month for two days like planting trees in the destroyed sections of the park or fixing up some of the older areas of the city," the chair bound man explained as he absently balanced on two wheels once again, his seat off to the side so he wouldn't trip any of the waiters. "That's supposed to last for about a year, but I heard the Fuhrer talking to some of the parliament officials in the courtyard and they were saying with the way the Military being as big as it is and our neighbors no longer at war with us since they're making all those treaties we should consider having a survey done of the whole country and sending out groups of soldiers for a month every year to go work somewhere for the betterment of the people. Alchemist's too."

"An excellent idea, the Military is supposed to be working for the people," Riza stated simply as she noticed Beth's yawn out of the corner of her eye. "I think it may be time to head back."

"Absolutely," agreed Gracia as Elysia leaned against her arm tiredly. "My little girl's got school in the morning and it's been a long day."

"I suppose that's it then," said Winry as Havoc picked up the check and rolled himself over to the register. "Oh, he doesn't have to pay for me…"

"Let him, he likes spoiling people," said Roy with a grin. "And if you convince him to take your money the rest of us will be forced to do the same."

"Cheap and lazy, why is it the women of Central fawn all over you again?" quipped Gracia as she followed the rest out the door.

"My dashing good looks, of course," he replied with a hint of pride, brushing the hair from his eye and patch smoothly. "They just can't resist the Mustang charm."

"Actually, it's just because he's got the money to take them to the restaurants on the nicer side of town," Havoc stuck in there with a grin, barely managing to evade his superior's smack on the side of his head. "That and he's so girly half of them think he's gay, so he's safe to hang out with."

"I'm not gay, Havoc!"

"I never said you were, sir," the man drawled as he switched the cigarette to the other side of his mouth. "It's some of the ladies that think so, not me."

"Load up the cars already, before these munchkins fall asleep on the way to their beds," ordered Gracia as she helped Beth and Elysia into Riza's backseat, climbing back there with them when Winry took the front. This left the boys, including Zeke, to ride back to the duplex together, though Havoc's wheelchair still had to go in Riza's trunk.

"Pay up," said Roy the moment they were in the car, Havoc sighing and handing over ten dollars before grumbling something about men without backbones under his breath.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Kants carefully when he caught Havoc glaring at him in the rearview mirror, him and Zeke sharing the backseat.

"He just didn't read you well enough, that's all," Roy assured him with a short laugh. "He seemed to think you'd try and ask the young Miss Rockabell for a date after dinner tonight.

"S-sir?!" Kants looked positively horrified as Havoc burst into a rant about how he had to have more backbone if he ever wanted a girl to like him. "S-sir, I really don't think it's your business…"

"Correction, you're under our command and officially part of the family, everything in your life is now our business," broke in Roy with a smirk as the color drained from the young man's face. "Don't look so scared, kid, it's not as bad as all that."

"Yeah, could be worse, you could be one of the unfortunate few who knows the Brigadier General's business as well," Havoc shot teasingly, the said man glaring at him out of the corner of his eye as he drove. "Well, sir, you do have the most messed up personal life I've ever seen…"

"Please, Havoc, the last thing I need is to be reminded of that," the Brigadier General snapped sharply. His voice suddenly dropped considerably, Zeke capturing Kants' attention with a question about his rank in the Military. "What did she say?"

"Who, sir?"

"You rode with her there, Havoc, don't play these games with me."

The handicapped military officer sighed and wondered how he'd gotten in the middle of the two of them in the first place. Oh, right, he'd become a close friend of Hawkeye's during the war, then decided to take a liking to his commanding officer after they were assigned together. A commanding officer she had an interesting past with. He really should've seen it coming right from the start. "Her stance hasn't changed," he said as he stared out the windshield. "Straight and true, she's going to support you to the top no matter what. And I do mean no matter what." They both knew what was not being said, Hawkeye would keep herself as untouchable as long as it could possibly be a detriment to his career. Even with the fraternization laws gone, it wouldn't take much but a well-placed rumor and being caught once in a compromising situation to end both of their lives in the military permanently. Murdering a previous Fuhrer, even if it was proven that he wasn't human, was a bad enough stain as it was, Hawkeye would never allow him to tarnish his name again.

"Damn…"

"Uncle Roy, do you think Winry likes Uncle Ollie, too?" asked Zeke suddenly, both men glancing back to find their subordinate a brilliant shade of red and the boy as curious as ever. "Cuz I think he likes her."

"Oh, he definitely likes her," Havoc crowed as they pulled into the driveway. "But the person to ask that first question might be your Aunt Riza; she usually knows things like that."

"Oh, ok."

"N-no, really, you don't have to," rushed Kants as he tried to convince the boy by waving his hands slightly. "I'll, uh, ask her myself sometime."

"But I wanna know now," Zeke whined as he slid out of the car, scowling slightly.

"Well, then, I'll tell you first thing when I find out," Kants promised quickly. "Before I tell anyone else."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Ok!"

"What's that about?" asked Winry as Zeke passed her with a wide grin before trotting inside behind his aunt and sister.

"Uh, just a game we were playing," Kants tried to explain lightly, his voice squeaking at the end. She smothered a smile as he flushed both immediately looking away when their gazes met again. "He's a…good kid."

"Yeah, he is."

"He'll ask her out by the end of the week," said Havoc to Roy he helped him into his chair, pulling another ten from his pocket.

Roy shook his head with a grin. "No, he'll wait until next time she visits. Ten it is. I almost feel bad, though, because you're going to lose again."

"I've won plenty of money off of you chickening out asking Riza to dinner," Havoc chuckled as he watched his superior officer almost do a double take at him. "What? It was pretty obvious what you were trying to do since you got back, at least to us guys. I know she thought you were acting a little strange, but she doesn't know yet. Or at least I didn't tell her. If she asked Fuery, though, you're screwed; the man can't lie to save his life."

"Nice to know my officers are so involved in my personal life," Roy grumbled as they headed for the front door.

"We're only returning the favor," Havoc replied, giving the Brigadier General a pat on the arm.

"Sir, do you think you could do without me tomorrow?" asked Riza as Gracia bid everyone goodnight and went from Riza's half to her own, giving the excited Black Hayate a pat before closing the door behind them. "I still need to enroll Zeke in a school, and another day to settle in would be helpful."

"I actually wasn't expecting you to come back at all this next week," admitted Mustang as he sauntered up beside her. "Are you sure that's enough time?"

"Plenty, sir," she assured him with a nod. Beth came up beside her a tugged on her sleeve, the older woman crouching beside her to have her whisper in her ear. "Don't worry; I'll be inside in just moment…"

"Go ahead and go, Hawkeye, we'll see you tomorrow," he said as he turned towards his car. "I'll come pick up the truck during lunch, see you then!"

"Ok, sir."

Havoc and Kants bid them goodnight as well, Winry coming inside as Riza closed the front door with a flushed face and a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Go get ready for bed," she told Zeke as she picked up Beth, the younger girl's eyes already drooping. "Are you going to bed?" she asked Winry, the mechanic snapping back to the present with a blush.

"Uh, not quite yet," she replied quickly. "Are you?"

Riza shook her head, giving her a tired smile as the little girl in her arms snuggled more deeply against her. "Not quite yet, you can stay for some tea if you want."

Winry nodded gratefully. "Alright."

"Wanna show you my room," Beth murmured from where her head rested on Riza's shoulder, her aunt carefully cradling her as she walked up the stairs.

"That's right, I haven't seen it yet today," she replied quietly, easily reaching the top. The first door was Beth's, and she opened it before flicking on the lamp to her immediate right. Light flooded the small room, and it showed Beth's small white bed against one wall to the immediate right with her matching nightstand beside it and the bookshelf painted the same color along the other way. The pictures that needed to be hung leaned against the foot of the bed, waiting for the room to be painted first as Riza had promised, and several glass figures decorated the top of the dresser. Pulling out pajamas and helping her into them, the sharpshooter tucked the little girl under the covers with a small smile.

"Comfortable?" she asked as she smoothed the golden hair back from sleepy red-brown eyes.

"Mhm," the girl replied with a nod. "I don't wanna be by myself."

"Well…" Riza paused with a slight frown. "I can't stay here with you, the bed is too small and there's not much space on the floor. Would Black Hayate do?"

The dog stuck his head in the door after she whistled quietly, tail wagging as his mistress ordered him on the bed beside the girl. Beth smiled and reached out to the furry creature, who obliged by licking her fingers eagerly.

"He'll protect you," she promised as she silently told the dog to stay. He seemed confused as she rose to her feet, about to try and follow, but another command and he lay there perfectly still. Beth curled up beside him, one arm pulling his shaggy neck close. Guard, Riza told him silently with her hands, stay. "And if you get scared just come downstairs, I'll be in the kitchen or my bedroom. He'll go with you wherever you go."

The little girl seemed content with that, her face free of all signs of worry once more. "Ok. 'Night."

"Goodnight."

Closing the door softly with the lamp left on per the occupant's request, it was only a few steps to Zeke's room and after a quick knock on the door she procured entrance to his area. The bed was bigger than his sister's and against the far wall with the nightstand beside it just like hers. Two book shelves stood to the immediate right of the door in the corner, and beside the closet was the chest of drawers. All of the furniture was in the same dark wood with a black varnish, standing starkly against the white walls.

The boy himself was already in the bed, the alchemy book Pinako had given him spread over his lap.

"Go to sleep," she told him as she took it from his hands, setting it aside on the nightstand. "You have to go register for school tomorrow."

"Where am I going?" he asked as he settled under the covers, her keeping her contact to a brief brush of fingers along his forehead to settle his hair.

"I'm not sure yet, we'll talk about it at breakfast," she replied as she switched off the lamp. "You know where to find me if you need something. Even if it's just not sleeping well."

"Ok…"

"Goodnight."

"'Night."

She shut his door as well, turning off the lights in the hallway before making her way down the stairs to the kitchen.

Winry was just pouring the hot water into the cups, handing her one along with a teabag and the sugar bowl.

"Thank you," said Riza as she pulled out her purse and with it the gun that she always carried. Taking it apart, she was soon cleaning it with the care most reserved for bathing a newborn. "For everything."

"Just trying to help," Winry replied with a small smile, settling herself at the table with the gun-toting woman already seated and putting the firearm back together. "It was fun, too."

"Hm, yes, you especially seemed to enjoy the scenery," her companion said in an offhand manner, setting the gun aside as the younger woman bowed her head slightly with a blush. "And I'd say the scenery enjoyed looking at you as well."

"Is it wrong to feel a little…guilty for enjoying his presence?" Winry asked as she ran a finger along the rim of her mug. "I mean, we hardly spoke at all, but…"

"You had a special connection with Edward, but he's no longer here," the Lt. Colonel said flatly as she eyed the young woman sitting beside her. "I very much doubt it was ever actually acknowledged on his part, if he even realized it at all. So, even if you hold a special place for him, and he for you, I think he would understand if you didn't sit around waiting forever for him."

"Six months isn't exactly forever…"

"Winry."

The young woman sighed, putting her head on her arms as she pressed her lips together. "I miss them so much," she whispered after awhile. "Now they've both left me, and sometimes I wonder how they could just push me away like that, but for a little while tonight I forgot." Her eyes closed as her the corners of her lips raised slightly. "He was so cute turning red when everyone looked at him like that at the restaurant and really helpful when Breda and Black Hayate knocked over all those chips and plates…"

Riza just sipped her tea, letting the young woman talk herself out as she described how his eyes changed colors in the light, and his hair looked so masculine even if it was longer than most. He was taller than she was used to, but for some reason she didn't feel like he was hovering over her when they stood next to each other. She then, of course, wondered if he really had been watching her as well and what he thought and if he might ask her out sometime before she left. Would she say yes? Could she say yes? She didn't know yet, maybe she needed more time before she could say for sure…

An hour passed before Winry stopped completely, silence sitting between them for a few minutes before Riza rose to her feet and announced she was going to bed.

"Thanks," said Winry as she got to her feet, collecting her mug to put in the sink.

"For what?" her friend replied as she stretched slowly, emptying what was left in the kettle.

"For listening."

"Sometimes it's just better to let people get it out of their system," she reasoned with a shrug as she turned towards her bedroom door. "I'm sure you'll sleep better now. Goodnight, Winry."

"Goodnight, Riza."

-0i0-

A little bit longer than last time, and even more about the new additions to the crew. On Kants end, at least. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, here's the review replies!

GENREAL NOTE TO ALL READERS: Some of you seem to be confused about where exactly this story takes place in the FMA time line. In the first chapter, I detailed it out fairly well, and I'll do so again here. After this, I won't be answering this question because you should at least know as readers by now to at least peruse the Author's Notes from time to time. It's just polite.

This is a manga/anime/movie mix since I prefer some manga elements but it hasn't reached its conclusion yet. For clarity's sake, here are the important details that I can think of that have great influence on this piece. This will have lots of spoilers for the manga and series, consider yourself fairly warned. Roy and Riza have their past together, with the array on Riza's back and Roy studying under her father. Havoc is in a wheelchair from the battle with Lust and has been rehired by the military as a non-commissioned officer under Roy training new officers. Similar to Sheska's position. The movie has occurred, and the conflict ended six months before, with both brothers disappearing to the other side.

And now on to the rest of the reviews!

Anne Packrat : Yeah, Zeke's quite the complex kid. Read above for your answer, and thanks for the review!

Dennisud : Gotta say, the whole family element is one of my favorite things about this story too. Seeing the behind the scenes lives the military folks, especially Roy and Riza, just makes my day. And yeah, the new characters will certainly be leaving their impact before long. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Leigh : That's right, Zeke knows better than to mess with Riza now! That doesn't mean it'll stop him, probably, silly boy. Glad to know I've managed even more than your expectations, I hope I continue to do so! Thanks for the review!

Blknblupanter1 : Thanks for the review, glad to know you'll be sticking around for a bit and that you approve of the multiple updates. Hope this was soon enough for you!

Danelle : Thanks, even if you did forget to review for a bit. I do it too, sometimes. : ) Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that you may never doubt how good this story is again. Loved the review!

Causmicfire : I've always hated it when they made one, or both of the cannon characters perfect and entirely without fault or flaw. Perfection can be earned, to a certain degree, I think if Riza had been practicing constantly in preparation for that exact contest for weeks before it happened a perfect score could have very well occurred. Without that practice, I think the pressure would get to her at least a little bit. The family times together are great, as is the way Riza is slowly learning to deal with her charges. Thanks for the many compliments and the wonderful review, hope this part lived up to the rest.

Kurissyma san Tybalt : I don't think I've ever had someone miss a bus for want of reading one of my chapters. Almost been late to class, yes, or tempted to skip a period or work shift in order to read it, yes, but never actually completely missing a bus. The complement that pays me is great, and I really truly appreciate it though I hope you weren't late wherever you were trying to go. All of your questions about the past are answered above, hopefully, and if not go watch the end of the FMA series plus the movie. That should explain things well enough.

SxL : Of course I quoted Wicked, I've seen it live twice! Almost saw it three times, but that's another story. And of course she will eventually be convinced, the question is when and how. Stick around to find out! Thanks for the review. :)

Jacksparrow589 : Your most adamant approval was met with great delight! Don't worry, if I plan on setting records it will be for speedy updates, not long ones. I hope your paper went well, thank you for the review, and I hope you enjoyed it once more!

Humor Queen Merc : You are too kind! Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the next chapter!

Dailenna : Look, less than 24 hours! Can't get much better than that, eh? Zeke's gonna learn eventually…it's just gonna take him awhile. It usually does with kids. And yeah, Riza now has a subordinate all her own. Always gotta throw in another element, you know what I mean? Yeah, and I like making fun of pairings I don't agree with. Sorry, but Roy Mustang was straight. End of story. Gracia's subtle attempts are about to get a whole lot less subtle, so stick around, and yeah, she takes after Maes far more than she probably should. I'm glad you found something personally relevant in the story, I try to make them as realistic as possible. Thanks for the awesome review, can't wait to hear from you again and I hope the chapter was most satisfactory.

SakuraTearDrop : Aw, I guess you loves me forever now, huh? Glad to know you're in for the long haul, can't wait to hear from you again and thanks for the review!

Momiji-k : Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of dirty humor myself but I couldn't help poking fun at Ed/Roy fans, it's just so wrong. It's like saying Riza and Wrath should hook up, or Fuery and the old Fuhrere. I'm glad you enjoyed the story, and I'm going for realistic so I'm glad I'm succeeding. Yeah, I know about the typos, but if that's the worst people can blast me on I'm as happy as a clam. Sorry about the lapse in updates, but I did explain why at the beginning of last chapter, and the next few rapid updates should more than make up for it. Thanks for the wonderfully long review, hope the next part was just as good.

OTP : Glad you loved it, thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the next chapter!

That is for now, folks. See you again soon!

CB

'God save me from my friends. I can protect myself from my enemies.'

-Martin Luther


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7! Wow, and to think I'm finishing this within 24 hours of posting chapter 5. Whether or not it will be posted before the 24 hours is up is yet to be seen, and is entirely dependent on how my internet connection decides to have. With a strong and steady signal, I hope, for your sakes. Thanks to those of you who reviewed, I always love hearing from you guys, and replies are at the end. Enjoy!

-0i0-

"I hope you aren't planning on doing this every night."

Zeke looked up from the couch, his body curled up as tightly as it could be as his eyes strained to read the alchemy book he'd brought with him. "Sorry…"

"Upstairs," she said with a tired smile, guiding him with a gentle hand on his back as they ascended them together. Once again he almost protested, it would be awhile he wanted to say, but his eyelids suddenly developed rims of lead and by the time she had tucked him in again he was almost asleep. She sat beside him running her fingers through his hair, much like the night before though this time when he looked at her he asked, "How did you know?"

"The stairs creaked," she explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It had to be you, your sister, Black Hayate, or someone who didn't belong here, so I came to check."

"Oh…didn't mean to wake you…"

"It's alright, just relax."

His body obeyed accordingly, and soon he knew nothing until morning.

Riza rose and walked down the hall to Beth's room, opening the door to hear something rather unusual. A closer look showed trails of tears marking the young face, her body shuddering slightly in her sleep as Black Hayate protectively huddled beside her. Nudging the dog aside, she picked up the small girl and cradled her gently to her chest as the older woman settled in the rocking chair.

"Mommy…" the girl whispered in her sleep as her tears stopped, Riza wiping the damp marks away though it was with a hesitant hand. "Daddy…"

It hurt to hear the longing note in the girl's voice, but when she was calm and still fast asleep Riza laid her back down and told Black Hayate to stay once more. She wasn't their mother, but she was taking the woman's place, and it felt wrong. Heading back to her room, she wondered if all guardians felt like this as she set herself to sleep once more.

-0i0-

Beth, Riza and Zeke stood in a line in front of the massive building, a true testament to gothic architecture at its finest in a dark gray stone. The sign at the front proudly announced the school's name, Rochester Academy, one of the two private schools in Central that groomed its students for Military entrance after their graduation as both soldiers and alchemists. Generally, Riza wouldn't even consider something beyond the public education Zeke could get for free, but she knew the headmistress of Rochester Academy personally, and it would be difficult to get the same alchemic education in the public schools as the boy could receive here. Zeke had begged her to bring him there the moment she'd mentioned it, and so here they were.

"Ready to go in?" asked Riza as she took Beth's hand, putting a guiding hand on Zeke's back. Without waiting for an answer she moved forward at a steady pace, quickly being shown to Mistress Hoffenbeck's private office were the stately woman awaited them. She was in her later years, a full head of snowy hair neatly coiled at the back of her neck and a straight back despite the wrinkles in her skin. Tall and thin, none of her students dared show her the least bit of disrespect after the first time they crossed her. Her father had been military, and she had been raised in his harsh discipline in a way that gave her the backbone to stand down the fiercest parent or General. However, for the moment, her mouth was set in a deceptively serene smile and her eyes twinkled with a hint of amusement.

"I always did say you would make a fine mother, I just thought it would be to a brood of your own," the woman said by way of greeting, bidding them to sit as tea was brought for Riza and juice for the other two. "So, you have a possible new student for me. What is your name, boy?"

"Zeke Herndon," he replied, somehow sensing this was not a woman to be crossed as he sat up straighter. His hair was combed back for the interview, and he was wearing his best shirt and pants with freshly polished shoes. Belatedly, he added, "Ma'am."

"He's not very big," the Headmistress clucked slowly. "Nor very athletic from the looks of it…alchemy is it?"

"I would like to become a State Alchemist, ma'am," he replied with a slow nod, glancing at Riza who gave him a reassuring nod.

"Well, there certainly isn't a better place for you to learn that," she said with a spreading smile. "There are some cookies on a tray outside if you would take your sister with you for a moment; I have some things to discuss with your Aunt."

The boy complied; Beth going after her caretaker assured her it would only be a moment, finding herself under the woman's scrutiny the moment the door was closed.

"You want to work a deal with the time you put in here," old woman said with a sigh. "I should have been anticipating this; you've been coming in for nothing for four years now."

Riza just smiled slightly with a nod. The academy turned out several young men and a few women who became fine soldiers, and the Military had jumped on the chance when the original firearms instructor left for another job. The Headmistress had been delighted to find Central's top marksman was a woman, and had decided it was the perfect opportunity to show the possible recruits that not all good soldiers were men. It was only a two week course every semester, done during Riza's lunch hour at work. The men never complained if she was a bit late coming back from her break, she almost always put in overtime, and if anything she was always too busy trying to keep her own work in line and find time to eat that she forgot to hound them as well during that time.

The work itself was quite simple, and because of that in the past she had refused to accept pay, it just a basic safety class for the newest group of students with a refresher course for the old ones with a few marksmanship trials to see who had the talent for lining up their cites. There was a shooting range at the school, and any student who she deemed worthy and over a certain age was allowed relatively unrestricted access. Younger students were often required to stick to pellet weapons or rubber bullets, but there were a few handguns and rifles with live ammunition to be had. The guns, of course, were not allowed to leave the facility but it was open for several hours after school ended and generally a few hours before it started in the morning.

"Half tuition, plus free entrance to the after school alchemy program, with runs Monday through Friday for two hours after classes end, so long as you keep instructing your seminar," the Headmistress said after a few moment's of thought. "He's got the drive, and probably the talent."

"That is more generous than I expected," admitted Riza as the papers were slid across to her, filling out the required spots quickly and signing her name at the bottom. "When can he begin?"

"Tomorrow, if you like, the sooner the better really so we can get him caught up with the others," her companion replied as she took the papers back and filed them in a cabinet beside her desk.

"Certainly."

"Follow me, then…"

Mistress Hoffenbeck rose gracefully to her feet, Riza following her outside and collecting Beth and Zeke for a short tour of the grounds. There was the library, complete with its own alchemy section, the firing range, the gym, and the inner courtyards for lunch periods, the various wings for math, science, history, language arts and specialized courses. Eventually they came to the uniform room, the old man behind the desk whipping a measuring cord around Zeke's thin frame before handing him a set of dark blue slacks, a white shirt, and a blazer that matched the slacks. They fit perfectly, so they were given three other sets in the same size, the transaction finished by the time Zeke had emerged in his own clothes once more with a belt, three pairs of black socks and black shoes to complete the ensemble.

"You'll have to trim his hair," warned the Headmistress when they were finished and she was escorting them back to the front. "It's a bit longer than regulation…"

"I'll do it tonight," Riza promised as they were shown out the door. "Thank you, Mistress Hoffenbeck, it's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"And with you, Lt. Colonel. Take care."

"Excited?" asked Riza as they got back in her car, heading back towards the house where a lunch of egg salad sandwiches with carrots and celery awaited them.

"Yeah," admitted Zeke with a hint of surprise. "It's really strict, and kinda scary, but she was talking about all the stuff the alchemy program is doing, I am in it, right? And it sounded so cool."

"I'll be picking you up after school every day when the program ends," Riza explained as they turned the corner onto their street. "Though I might be a few minutes late occasionally, depending on work. I know it's a short walk to the duplex, but I would prefer you don't make it alone until you're a bit older."

"Ok."

The rest of the day was spent unpacking and preparing for the day after, Gracia inviting them over for a dinner of roast pork with potatoes and gravy. They accepted, all of them crowded around the small kitchen table and enjoying a light banter with the good food until the children were finished and ran off to play in Elysia's room upstairs.

"Gracia, you need to tell me how much," said Riza the moment the kids were out of earshot, Winry perking up in curiosity as the older woman made a face over her drink.

"Money shouldn't come between families," she argued weakly, Riza standing firmly against her as she tried to protest. "I don't need anything from you to watch Beth during the day, Riza."

"I don't feel right leaving her here without paying you back somehow," the other woman stated briskly. "She's not your responsibility, Gracia, and I won't have you feeding us as well when the inheritance those two are receiving can more than cover their expenses…"

"No, I have more than enough to cover my rent and the groceries with what we are given as military compensation," Gracia said quickly. "I don't want your money…"

The Lt. Colonel sat there for a moment, her eyes suddenly dawning with an inner light as she realized something. "This duplex…it's the last one your landlord owns, right? The rest have been torn down and replaced with those apartment complexes."

"Right," Gracia replied, frowning in suspicion when she was then asked how the man could be reached. "His number is on the list with the rest."

Riza got up and went to the phone; dialing the number Gracia had listened beside her landlord's name. "Hello, Mr. Gordon? I have a question for you…"

A short while later the woman disappeared across the street, returning about thirty minutes later with a satisfied look in her eyes and a signed paper in her hands.

"Riza, what did you do?" asked Gracia when the blonde returned, the kids sitting at the kitchen table eating a dessert of chopped fruit with whipped cream. "I already told you I won't accept your money…"

"So I won't try and give it to you," the woman replied with a nod. "I assume that works the other way as well…?"

"How could I expect you to accept something that I refused?" the mother replied in confusion. "That would be silly."

"Excellent. Then as your new landlady I refuse to accept rent from you and insist that you only pay your utilities since those are already billed directly to you," the sharpshooter replied with a hint of smugness in her smile. "Your lease will be for an indefinite amount of time, that is to say until you no longer need the space, and the terms will not change, ever."

Gracia's face was a sight to behold as her jaw dropped slightly. "But…the money…! How can you possibly…?"

"It's taken care of," was all Riza would say, showing her the deed to their property. "You'll never need to worry about where you're going to live when your lease runs out ever again. Mr. Gordon was most cooperative in this matter."

"Oh…my…"

"Is everything alright?" asked Zeke as he looked up from the kitchen table, Elysia and Beth beside him as Gracia sunk into a chair.

"I was just explaining something to Gracia, I believe the way in which I did it may have…jolted her unnecessarily," Riza explained as she put a comforting hand on the older woman's shoulder, Winry fetching a glass of water for her. "My apologies, Gracia, I should have explained myself before I acted."

"No, I would've argued with you over the cost," she replied after a moment, giving her friend a weak smile. "I knew you would find a way to pay me back, regardless of what I did, I just never imagined…!"

"Zeke, time for your haircut," said Riza as she put the folded papers under her arm, giving Gracia one last pat before she picked up Beth and headed for the door. "Thank you for dinner, Gracia, it was wonderful. We'd love to stay but Zeke needs to finish a few things before we can turn in for the night and Beth needs to go to bed early since she'll be here first thing in the morning."

"We'll see you then," the mother replied as she had finished regathering her scattered wits. "You're quite welcome, dear. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Night, Winry, Elysia."

"Night guys!"

-0i0-

Beth watched in utter fascination as Riza tied an old towel around Zeke's neck and picked up some sharp shears from the kitchen counter. Black Hayate was sitting obediently beside her, head resting in her lap, as she sat on the floor a little ways away, well out of range of falling tufts of hair. The black strands fell away in fairly uniform pieces, lying there damp and curled on the floor as Riza worked her way around his head, leaving a neat row just long enough to brush the tops of his ears. The back she trimmed as she could, neatening it up as much as is possible with a pair of scissors and limited hair-cutting experience, but as she brushed him off and told him to go by his sister while she swept up the mess she added she'd be taking him to the barber the next weekend.

He scowled as he fingered the short black strands, but said nothing as she let them play with the dog for awhile before ordering them to bathe and then to bed. She washed Beth's hair again, per the young girl's request. His uniform lay neatly in his room and Beth's clothes chosen and spread out as well, it wasn't long before their aunt was tucking them in bed and saying goodnight.

Downstairs she traipsed afterwards, to clean her guns and set her own things out before going to bed. It was the beginning of a nightly routine that they would often go for weeks without breaking. There was a final step to be added, though.

Zeke woke at one in the morning, his mouth like cotton and his mind once more jumping about as it always did. Down the stairs he went to get some water, and just like the night before Riza was waiting for him by the time he reached the bottom. She got the glass for him, and then escorted him upstairs, sitting by his bed and combing her fingers through his much-shorter hair as he quickly fell back asleep. Then to Beth's room she would creep, almost every other night comforting the small girl in her sleep before finding her own rest once more. For a month it would continue Zeke's footsteps on the stairs always waking her up and her hand on his head putting him back to sleep, then cradling Beth into happier dreams. If the others at the office noticed she was a bit more tired in the mornings than before, it was chalked up to the added stress of two young children in her life.

-0i0-

Everyone at Central who knew much about Riza Hawkeye was aware of a few key things. She had the eye of a hawk in almost all matters, enough authority to boss around her own boss without repercussions, and if she wasn't at work early she was deathly ill, someone who needed her care was deathly ill, or the world was about to end. However, few people knew how early she usually arrived. Those who sectioned out the paperwork would usually have hers laid out the night before to be sure it was ready when she arrived in the morning.

Promptly at six o'clock in the morning Riza rousted her charges from their beds, Zeke changing into his uniform and heading over to Gracia's for breakfast and his ride to school while Beth was carried over with her clothes in a neat pile and laid on the couch to sleep for a bit longer. She was at the office by 6:20, and across from her sparring partner at 6:30. Maria Ross had been an academy student at the Central academy during Riza's last year out at Eastern, only spared the Ishabal war by a few months to her graduation. Though Ross's hand to hand tactics were phenomenal, and she had been put under Alex Armstrong simply because he was one of the few that could keep up with her in a serious fight, it was decided that she didn't have the right temperament for special ops officers and short range fighters were of little use on boarder duty. As such, she had remained under the Major Armstrong until he resigned his position over two years before.

Riza had met the young woman early in both their careers, but hadn't really gotten to know her until they were transferred to Central and they met on a nearly daily basis. They quickly realized that they had skills that they could teach each other, and from there a solid friendship had blossomed despite the differences in rank.

Honestly, the sharpshooter knew her now subordinate could wipe the floor with her, should she choose to. The fact that Ross was able to hold back and still get a workout while not breaking any of Riza's bones was a testament to how well she had honed her skills over the years. For close to forty minutes they would spar and go through forms and such. The corner of the gym they used was generally abandoned at this time in the morning, and not many stuck around if they did notice the pair practicing there. By the time they hit the showers, the early risers of the soldiers and officers would begin trickling in to start their day. By 7:30 Riza would be clean and dressed once again with the efficiency that came from perfecting the routine over the years. 7:35 she was entering the office, and by 8:00 sharp the last officers filed in sans the Brigadier General Mustang who was always precisely fifteen minutes late.

This morning was no exception to this honored routine, and though Ross was wary at first of landing a blow on her new superior officer, Riza quickly beat that notion out of her head and the two were trading strikes and blocks as always. The exchange left them both with a few marks that would fade before the day was through, though more on Riza's part then Maria's as usual, and soon they were in the showers and preparing for work. Down the hall they walked together, turning into the same office and both fixing cups of coffee while quickly eating the protein bar both had taken to consuming as their morning meal during the week. Papers were shuffled and divided with the last stacks being put in place as everyone else began to arrive. Hawkeye had considered that having Ross under her command could be strange since they had been friends first, but found it worked out very nicely.

Ross went to her desk, asking questions only when necessary and being as efficient as one could ever hope in a subordinate with her paperwork. Brosh had left on a field mission with Marshall the day before, the alchemist having begged to go along when he learned the Lt. Colonel would be back in the office again the next day. Roy, understanding the poor man's plight, had allowed him to go though not without a few digs at him learning not to stick his foot down his throat while he was gone for the sake of his future survival. Falman and Breda were both gone, assigned to clean up crews around the city where they were still working to repair the damage done by the recent attack. Havoc rolled in to park himself in front of her as she bent over one of the work tables in the back of the community office, a cheeky grin on his face as he tossed his lighter on top of her papers.

"So you won't have to yell at me for smoking inside," he said when she glanced up, her eyes rolling slightly as she stood up straighter.

"Really, that's too bad, because I was looking forward to raising my voice today," she replied flatly, moving the lighter to one side. "I'm actually surprised you didn't try to sneak the first one past me, Havoc. You always smoke in the office when I'm gone."

"He smoked inside the first day you were gone, then felt so guilty he didn't smoke again," called Fuery from his desk, ducking when the chair bound man glared at him. "Ross telling him it made the room smell awful may have had something to do with it."

"Cigarette smoke is an unpleasant smell regardless of the situation," the young woman put in from her seat across the room. "And while it is bad for the smoker's health, it is even worse for those of us who must bear the unfiltered fumes."

"Yeah, yeah, if I wanna torture my lungs do it on my time," Havoc sighed as he took the lighter back, stuffing it in his coat pocket. "Aren't you proud of us, though? Even you and the Brigadier General's work piles aren't too big after being gone a week."

"Did he do any work yesterday?" asked Riza as she opened the door to her office area, seeing the said stack there and noting that it wasn't that monstrous indeed. "Or was it a general holiday without me around?"

"He actually worked, I think he's trying to make a good impression on the new guys," admitted Havoc as he jerked a head in Kants' and Ross's direction. Under his breath he added, "That, and Ross packs one helluva glare…I think she takes after you a little too well for the men's comfort, ma'am."

Riza smiled slightly. "I'm sure. Back to your desk, Lieutenant, we've got work to do."

He gave a sketchy salute and rolled on. "Yes, ma'am."

Kants and Ross were quickly becoming acclimated to the general routines the office worked along, and with Roy mostly picking up the slack from being gone a week things progressed fairly well until lunch. Hawkeye elected to remain at her desk, chatting with Ross for a few moments when the young woman dropped by to invite her to a café before quickly eating the sandwich she had packed the night before and resuming her work. The ground she was able to make up gave her the peace of mind to leave on time and a glance at the Brigadier General's diminishing stack gave her hope that he might leave on time as well.

Papers were filed, reports finished, profiles updated and requisitions signed as the afternoon wore on. Eventually, the clock hit 5:30 and most everyone rose to their feet and began to finish last minute tasks before they could meander out the door. Riza was in the process of neatly organizing everything on her desk when her superior paused beside her when returning from a meeting with the other Generals.

"Tell Gracia I will be able to make it in time for dinner after all, Hawkeye," he informed her though his eyes never left the report they were scanning.

Her surprise only betrayed her for an instant. "Of course, sir."

"Thank you."

He shut himself in his office and she finished her task, gathering her things before heading out the door with a wave to the rest of the crew that was still hanging around for some reason. She noticed Ross walking down the front steps as she got in her car, and though she did note it was odd for the rest of the men to still be at Central when their work was clearly finished, she left it alone and went to pick up Zeke with her mind already focused on what homework he might have that night and how much time she could spend with Beth before it was time for the little girl to go to bed.

-0i0-

Roy was a little surprised when there was a knock on his door soon after he'd set himself to finishing the last little pile on his desk before he could leave for the night. "Yes?"

"Got a minute, sir?" asked Breda as he stuck his head in the door, a few other figures visible behind him.

"Yeah, is something wrong?"

No one replied as Breda, Fuery, Falman, Havoc, and a confused Kants filed in and stood or sat before him in neat line.

"With all due respect sir," said Havoc as he rolled himself forward slightly, obviously the elected spokesperson for this little event. "The men and I were talking and we just thought it'd be good to let you know something now, before you get in over your head."

"Over my head?" replied Roy, feeling as confused as Kants looked. Apparently the Private had no more of a clue as to what was going on than he did. "Speak plainly, Lieutenant, I have much to finish before I can leave."

"I mean this with the greatest of respect sir, but we want you to understand that if you break our girl's again heart we're gonna have to break your legs," said Havoc as he bobbed his head politely, a sincere smirk in place though Kants seemed to grow pale . "She's one of a kind, and what sort of brothers would we be if we didn't try to take care of her once in awhile?"

Roy sat there in stunned silence, his mouth slightly open as all but Havoc seemed to sweat nervously waiting for his reply.

"Is that…a threat?" he managed to choke out after several seconds.

"No sir," replied Havoc as he twirled a white stick between his fingers. "Just a very sincere promise. Threats tend to lead to nasty things like write ups for misconduct and court marshaling, things we'd really like to avoid."

"Oh…"

"You've probably got a lot to do, so we'll leave you alone now, sir," said Havoc when nothing more came, turning to leave with the rest about to follow.

"Wait, Kants?"

"Yes, sir?" The young man looked positively white he was so nervous; his hands shaking slightly though he'd clenched them into tight fists.

"Do you…agree with the other officers?" Roy asked as he stood slowly, straightening his uniform carefully.

"I…think toying with a woman's heart is a cruel things sir, regardless of the circumstances," the young man hedged carefully. "It is not my place, though, to say whether your have or will do so in response to any particular person, including Lt. Colonel Hawkeye."

"Well spoken, Private." Roy shook his head as he met the eyes of his other officers, a wry smile twisting his lips. "As for the rest of you…I thought you knew I had learned my lesson after this last time."

"We never thought you would behave as you did last time at all, sir," pointed out Fuery, though he blushed furiously for having the nerve to speak at all. "It was a poor way to repay her kindness, sir."

"I know." Kants' brows practically jumped at the pieces of history he was learning, though he didn't yet have the entire picture.

"Last time we left it alone, it was a long time coming and it looked like everything was falling into place fairly well," Havoc elaborated when the younger officer glanced at him pleadingly, as much for his sake as well as driving the point home with Roy. "If we'd known…well, let's just say the big brothers are just gonna make sure history doesn't repeat itself this time. She doesn't belong to just you, sir, and even if I am just a brother I think I've still got a right to protect her."

"She'd shoot you if you said that to her in person," Roy laughed hoarsely as the world stopped spinning and things began to make sense once more. "…thank you, for looking out for her. I'll keep what you said, eh, promised, in mind."

"Sure thing, sir. Let's go, guys, chief's probably got lots of work to do." Havoc herded the rest out before him, waving over his shoulder before he shut the office door. Roy sat back down heavily, leaning in his chair as his shoulders sagged. So much for going home in a peaceful frame of mind…!

-0i0-

Dinner at around the Hughes' table was a lively event. Zeke was bursting with news about his new school while Beth spent as much time as she could in Riza's lap even to the point of the Lt. Colonel setting her meal aside before she was done so the little girl could climb up. Black Hayate would take attention from anyone who would give it to him though Winry was the favorite for the night, and Elysia was caught three times trying to feed the dog her green beans. Gracia, of course, was all praise for how well Beth had behaved during the day, playing quietly with her dolls in the corner when the woman was cleaning the house and asking politely every time she needed something until Elysia had gotten home and the two had played together in her room. Uncle Roy had come in rather distracted, occasionally having to be called from his thoughts to the present conversation, but when Zeke started in on his alchemy club the Flame Alchemist was suddenly all ears and asked him many questions about the program. As there was homework to be done and things to be set up for the next day it wasn't long after dinner when everyone dispersed and Roy found himself in Zeke's bedroom helping the boy through his math homework.

Occasionally the pair would hear Riza or Beth's voice float up from the living room below with accompanying barks from Hayate, but for the most part it was a quiet time spent together. Eventually the boy was done and they went downstairs as well, Roy and Zeke taking over the game of tug of war with Hayate while Beth followed Riza into the kitchen for making the lunches for the next day. The last fifteen minutes before Beth was to take her bath was spent all together in the living room with Beth and Zeke on the floor and Riza and Roy on opposite ends of the couch with the dog stretched out between them. That, too, passed quickly and soon the Brigadier General was on his way home alone as the rest of the occupants readied themselves for bed in the routine they had established the night before.

Things continued this way for a week, the only change in their daily lives being whether Uncle Roy graced them with his presence or not during the evening meal and afterwards. Two other times he was able to make it, yet he fit so well into their new pattern of life that his presence being there or not being there seemed to make little difference. Things ran a little smoother, but they could do without him for the moment should it be necessary.

It wasn't until Friday that the routine changed, Riza leaving promptly at 5:00 as she'd taken a short lunch and Roy promising to pick up Zeke on his way over. By 5:30 her half of the duplex was filled with the smell of chicken casserole baking in the oven with steamed carrots and green beans were simmering beside it with bacon and butter. Gracia watched from the kitchen table where she set up the disposable plastic forks, plates, knives and cups with a pitcher of freshly made iced tea, lemonade and milk, her contributions to the evening's fare. Beth was given the privilege of licking the spatula when Riza finished icing the cake she'd made the night before after Roy left, and at 6:00 pm sharp the doorbell rang to announce the first guests.

Roy and Zeke were the first to arrive with Ross, Breda and Havoc right on their heels. Fuery and Falman rode with Kants, and Winry and Elysia came in through the connecting doors just as the trio entered the main room. Brosh and Marshall came straight from the train station where they'd arrived only a little while ago, the new State Alchemist a little apprehensive about entering Hawkeye's personal space after his last royal screw up but in the end he had nothing to worry about.

With the main room and kitchen nearly bursting to full, it wasn't hard to see why the new Major hardly saw much of his superior officer at all. The food was equally shared among all, and even if that meant the cake, which had originally fit the group quite well, had to be cut into rather thin slices so be it. Zeke and Beth seemed to bloom under the spoiling affections of their many uncles and aunt, and with Elysia at their side there was no end of fun to be had in the group.

Kants somehow found himself next to Winry, the two blushing and stealing glances when they thought no one else was looking until Zeke asked quite blatantly if Kants had asked Riza about Winry yet. The young man had stammered and blushed so bright red amid the laughter of the others his companion immediately took pity on him (though curious as she was about the question) and told Zeke Riza was looking for him. That wasn't entirely untrue as the Lt. Colonel was wondering who had taken the last half of her cake (she had only gotten up for a moment) and Zeke was the unknown guilty party of that little theft. Thankfully for him, any witnesses to the crime found it too funny to actually rat him out for the moment.

Havoc entertained the kids with rides in his lap as he did wheelies and twirled around in his chair, Uncle Roy always available for a piggy back ride afterwards and Maria a guaranteed lap to sit on if Riza and Gracia was no where to be found for little Beth and Elysia. Breda, when coaxed by the group, juggled some balls for them, and Brosh became their favorite person to dog pile and use as a jungle gym when someone suggested that he wasn't participating much in the group. Fuery, they found out towards the end, turned out to be quite a story teller, and by the time he finished his tale it was time for the kids to go to bed and the adults to head home.

Clean up was done together, as it always had been, everyone picking a chip out of the bag and taking the job listed on it. Two were assigned to wash, one to dry, someone to sweep the kitchen and clean the counters while another took out the trash, the living room was put to rights by someone else, and there was always the lucky fellow who choose the duty of taking Hayate out on a short walk. There was the extra lucky guy who got the leftovers, but seeing as their group had expanded and the leftovers no longer contained enough to feed a fellow for half the week it wasn't quite as a special as before. With the house put to rights, and everyone rather tired but in a very good mood, it soon felt deserted as the officers said their goodbyes and left for the night.

Roy was the last to leave, saying goodnight to Beth and Zeke as Gracia had already retired to her side of the duplex with Elysia for the night. A hug and a slapped palm later he was sitting in his car as is rumbled down the road, thinking about how much had changed just in the time he'd been gone. They'd been together before his departure, but somehow, in those two years they'd become something more. A real family.

And it was all thanks to Riza. Havoc had mentioned once when he'd gotten back that he and the boys had taken to some 'unhealthy habits' on the weekends, drinking themselves in dirty bars to sleep on the countertops, and it was a direct order from their then First Lieutenant that had pulled them out of it. The first Friday they'd reported to her apartment after hours they'd been a little apprehensive, she hadn't told them what to expect and that was when few knew just how good of a cook she was. Finding a full dinner on her little kitchen table with Riza pulling a perfect batch of cookies out of the oven had not been the first thing to come to mind.

She'd calmly explained as they'd meekly helped themselves to the food that it was better to have them here, eating with her, than out there doing heaven knows what. If, Saturday evening, they wanted to go back out and drink to their heart's content, they could, but she would never feed them again. The pull of good food made by an actual woman, even if it was Hawkeye, with the companionship of being together was too strong of a force against even the numbing lull of alcohol. They agreed to shape up, and every Friday came together to eat and share. There were slip-ups, of course, but after the lecture that followed no one messed up more than once. Gracia and Elysia were eventually invited to join, and though with this addition Riza's old apartment was nearly full to the top nothing would prompt them to move it elsewhere until she was forced to.

In a way, mused Roy as he pulled into his driveway, it was a good thing Riza had been forced to move. There's no way the original apartment would hold the current number of attendees, unless they were willing to sit in each other's laps, and while he wouldn't mind a certain blonde hawk in his lap he was quite certain she would protest most vehemently. Especially in a public place.

-0i0-

I really don't feel bad ending it here because you will be getting another update before the weekend is through. It might not be tomorrow morning, because I have a friend who's getting married this weekend and I'm in it, but I can reasonably promise at least one more update by Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to the many of you who replied, here's the replies back!

Kurissyma san Tybalt : Aw, well, I hope you don't have to miss a school bus often for my fics, that could get difficult when it comes to attendance. Glad you loved it, here's the update!

Jacksparrow589 : Good luck on your finals! I'm lucky, mine have been out of the way for awhile now. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and that you're not too upset for Winry falling for another guy (Ed _is_ gone, sorry). Thanks for the review, can't wait to hear from you again!

GreyBlue Angel : It's quite alright, I'm just honored you thought well of it enough to review at all. :) Thanks for the website, I use www dot narutocommunity dot com but I bet it works pretty close to the same. I'm doing my best, thanks a bunch for your many praises and I hope this next chapter didn't disappoint.

OTP : Updated again! Hope you liked it, and thanks for the review!

Causmicfire : Of course Riza's up early, she always is! I thought pancakes would be easier to throw together than waffles or French toast. Yep, they're a family, yes, he likes Winry, and I think that chucking a wrench line is particularly amusing myself. How else would Riza's books be arranged? I think Riza is a closest chocolate chip cookie lover, and Havoc always rocks. Hope you enjoyed the next chapter just as much, can't wait to hear from you again!

Crystal Mage : Anything to keep you from pining as I can, especially after such a long wait for updates! Glad you like Kants, I was afraid half you people might want to kill him for appropriating Ed's girl. And don't worry, I think you're about to get all the Roy-Riza you can handle! Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

-Kai Isolated- : Glad you love it so much! Awkward is certainly the name of the game, kind of like a cat and a dog sniffing at each other and not sure what to do. Thanks for the awesome review, hope you enjoyed it once more!

Yun Min : Good guess! Here's the update, hope you enjoyed it!

Leigh : Most of the chapters have been written out for several months now, all I have to do is format and proofread before their posted for your enjoyment. Which isn't quite as time consuming as writing the chapters is. Yeah, you've got a bit more of Riza digging her heals it before you get that far. Thanks for the review, can't wait to hear from you again!

Blknblupanther1 : Yeah, I'd like to get this published, but it's kind of illegal, seeing as the characters and all belong to someone else. If you know of a way, though, please share! Thanks for the review, and the wonderful compliment, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Humor Queen Merc : I try to please, glad to know I occasionally succeed. Hope it still meets your standards, and thanks for the review!

Dennisud : I'm sorry it's hard for you to accept Kants and Winry together, so I'll explain a bit why I didn't bring Ed back. He is obviously locked away in a rather hard to reach spot, and the fact is you really need a story all in of itself to explain how Ed and Al returned to their homeland and why they did so, who helped them and who tried to stop them. Beyond that the relationship between Ed and Winry is so stretched and screwed up that they'd either end up having a one night stand and then not know where to go from there or beat around the bush for years going on as they used to. That is just my opinion, of course, but the point is Winry and Kants are going to help push Roy and Riza's relationship along in their own way, and Ed and Winry just doesn't work nearly as well without some sort of a prequel that has to take place in the six months between the movie and when this story starts. Since I'm a) too lazy to come up with it and b) this works much more conveniently I'm afraid that's just not gonna happen. Maybe I will write an EdWin story for you guys someday, but I can say there's nothing in the planning stages right now. Hope you enjoyed it still, and that you'll continue to read regardless!

Dreximgirl : I'm glad you discovered it too! Stick around, there won't be any loud admissions of love anytime soon, but there's sure to be some amusing spots along the way!

FFVII : Yeah, well, as much as that stuff needs to happen it never happens quickly. Or at least the stuff that lasts doesn't. So…don't hold your breath for at least a couple more chapters. Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for the review!

Alright guys, that's it for this chapter. Thanks again for the review, hope you had fun, and see you sometime this weekend!

CB

"A closed mouth gathers no feet."

-Unknown


	8. Chapter 8

Wow, guys are really diggin' this, huh? Weekend update, just like I promised! Thanks for your many reviews and words of praise, I strive to make the best because I know you guys are counting on me to do so. Hope you enjoy it!

-0i0-

Saturday Roy was over at Riza's house around noon, offering to take the kids to the park for a few hours so she could get some things done around the house or get some shooting in at the range. She agreed after a few moments of deliberation, and with Hayate on a leash they began another routine save when the weather was particularly bad that would become as habitual as breathing.

The nearest park was only a few minutes away, and upon arriving there they immediately went to the playground where Zeke and Beth ran around together sliding down the slide, swinging on swings, climbing the jungle gym and trying to get across the monkey bars. Roy took a seat on one of the benches and watched with a smile, only coming to help with Beth needed a push on the swing or one of them got themselves stuck at the top of something. Usually after about an hour they would walk around the pond there a few times, sometimes bringing something to feed the ducks with and always stopping for ice cream cones at the very end, eating them slowly as they walked back to the duplex. The only sign of the sweet treats would be the dribbles on Beth's chin and the stain on Zeke's shirt where he always spilled some on himself, but Riza (fully relaxed from having just shot off a few clips full of bullets) would let it go as she welcomed them back to a cleaner house that faintly smelled of oil and polish.

The afternoon was spent in the backyard, Roy and Zeke taking over one corner as they began Zeke's 'private tutoring' in the realm of alchemy and Beth and Riza played with Elysia, Gracia and Black Hayate. This lasted until dinner, where the group of them went to eat at Poppa's Pizza and ended the evening with games at Gracia's house.

Nightfall, as always, came, and with it Roy's departure back to his small apartment in the Military housing buildings. Sunday they would remain apart, taking care of their own business until Monday came and their lives met once more.

Routines are a natural part of the human existence, and this was theirs for many, many weeks until summer came. However, some interesting things happened before the arrival of school letting out and the two week leave that all military officers received. Some indeed.

-0i0-

Winry was always willing to help when she came to visit, so one Sunday about a month after the children had moved in with Riza she was asked to watch Beth and Zeke while Riza ran to the store for some groceries. As helpful as ever, Winry immediately agreed while asking if Riza minded if she looked through the usual pictures while she was gone. The reply was, of course not, help yourself, so when Zeke came downstairs a few minutes later he found Winry bent over a thick, blue photo album that he had never seen before but seemed to be crowded with many, many photographs.

Sitting beside her, he forgot he was coming to find Riza to ask for help with his homework as pictures of the famous Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother came into view. Winry explained she always looked through them at least once every visit. There were others interspersed among the photos, pictures of the other officers around Central or out in the field together on a mission. Images of Roy and Ed growling at each other, Al with kittens on his shoulders, Riza pointing guns at people or being caught in a rare moment of affection with a much younger Hayate in her lap, Havoc smoking with a smirk as he went from walking on his own legs to needing his wheeled chair and even Winry chucking a wrench at a fleeing figure danced before his eager eyes. There were even pictures of various members of the military in the hospital or wearing bandages, particularly funny one of Havoc and Roy playing a game of chess while both lying on their backs in a hospital bed and wearing white gowns with Riza mediating between them.

They reached the end of the section where Ed's photos disappeared completely, in their place a few scattered pictures of a young blonde man that Winry explained was Al in his real body. Those, though, quickly disappeared as well among a sea of blue that was the military uniforms.

"Can we keep going?" asked Zeke as she paused on the last page with Al's picture, noticing that the Brigadier General wasn't present at all for the last few.

She nodded. "Sure."

Al had only visited Central once, soon after he was returned to his real body, so the pictures were from about two years before. They seemed to jump right into several of Riza's small apartment, crowded with the men as they sat around the table eating different meals together. Havoc performing tricks in his wheelchair, Breda running from a happy Hayate and Riza cooking over the stove wearing only her uniform pants and black shirt with an apron covered the pages. There was one of the Lt. Colonel looking extremely annoyed with a 'Happy Birthday' sign over her head and the men posing around her. The next few her face had softened though as they showed her opening presents of gun oils, a new collar for Hayate and cleaning clothes and then eating a cake with a revolver on it.

There was a string of pictures of the men at the beach together, one of Riza in a t-shirt reading a book as Falman and Breda snuck up behind her with a bucket of water. The next she was chasing them back towards the waves with the upper half of her shirt soaking wet and murder in her eyes. The next few showed both men cowering before her on the beach while Havoc laughed hysterically in the background. A couple pictures probably from later that night showed the men still in their beach ware and fast asleep on the train on the way home.

Another cycle of pictures at the office and Riza's apartment went by, then a formal ball with Riza in a very nice black gown in the middle of all four of the original men wearing tuxes. Her hair was down and her makeup done, a rare occurrence in and of itself, but what was even more interesting was the slightly mischievous glint in her eyes. Finally, more in the office, more at her apartment, another round at the beach, and suddenly the Brigadier General appeared again. A few more at the office, and in her apartment, and suddenly there was a picture of Beth and Zeke asleep on the couch with Hayate between them as a pillow.

"I remember that!" said Zeke in surprise. "I didn't know she took a picture!"

There were some snapshots of the day they moved in, others of the two siblings at the park, and eating dinner with Gracia and Elysia. More from the office, though with the new members included, and of the new Friday Feasts at the duplex. Finally, it ended with a page of photos they both remembered Gracia taking when they'd picnicked the last Sunday out at the park. A few of the others from Central had come, and with everyone bringing food to help out it felt more like a family reunion than a gathering of friends.

"Have you ever looked at the pictures before that section?" asked Zeke as he leaned his head on her arm, watching her flip backwards through the pages.

"No, I was only interested in the part with Ed and Al," she replied with a shrug. "She would make me copies if I asked for them, but I think its better this way. All of the pictures I have are of when we were children and were still together."

"Oh, do you think Aunt Riza would mind if we looked?" His fingers were already inching towards the edge of the page as she paused thoughtfully.

"I don't think so…"

Through the pages they flipped, finding a few shots of Ed and Al Winry had missed previously as they noticed Riza's hair begin to shorten as they turned the pages and suddenly the office be full of boxes and then change drastically into another room altogether.

"This must be from when they were at Eastern," explained Winry as they saw pictures of Hayate as a mere pup sitting in short-haired Riza's lap as she worked at her desk. Roy's desk was in with the other officer's, and there was even a few shots taken on a train with most of the officers asleep, save Riza who glared at the picture taker with Roy leaning on one shoulder and Havoc on the other in a way that probably rendered her incapable of actually carrying out the eyeballed threat. Havoc, Zeke noticed, was standing on his own, and there was a dark-haired man with glasses that kept popping up making peace signs with pictures in his hands of a little girl.

"That's Maes," explained Winry when he asked who it was. "Gracia's late husband and Elysia's father. He died in the line of duty several years ago, and Gracia and Elysia live on a generous stipend from the military because of his many courageous acts."

They reached the very beginning of the book and Winry surprised Zeke by reaching down and pulling up another, this time a dark red. Together they started at the back once more, the new one picking up where the old had left off as they continued backwards through Riza Hawkeye's life. There were pictures of Roy playing chess with an old, wizened man with a thick mustache and that same man then posing with Riza out of uniform with a pretty old lady with snow white hair. He looked familiar, but the boy glossed over it as several very funny photos suddenly occurred. They all seemed to have a common theme, a prank gone wrong, and somehow it always seemed to include Riza soaked in water, covered in feathers, or something equally irritating with a gun out, Roy laughing behind her and Breda running for cover.

Making a mental note to ask Riza about them later, or maybe Roy as she looked less than pleased in the photos, they moved forwards and suddenly came to a page of official looking pictures of Riza, Roy, and Maes in full ceremonial garb saluting the camera. The next pictures showed them all exiting a train wearing worn uniforms and looking far worse for the wear though Maes was waving excitedly to whoever was holding the camera. A page later and they were all in the desert with dark rings under their eyes, haunted looks to their faces and bodies gaunt from strain and lack of food and sleep. A tan cape flung about the sharpshooters shoulders, someone had gotten a snapshot of her sitting in the shadows of the clock tower with the sniper rifle raised and ready.

"This must be from Ishabal," whispered Zeke, his eyes wide as he ran his fingers over a picture of a destroyed town in the distance completely in flames. "Whoa…"

"Those were hard times," a familiar voice said over his shoulder. "Maes still managed to take a picture whenever possible, though."

Both glanced up to see Riza and Roy standing behind them, groceries set aside for the moment as they looked over the page with sad eyes.

"Keep going," Riza encouraged them when the pair paused awkwardly with an encouraging smile. "I don't mind." Winry turned the page, this time coming upon several images of Havoc and Riza together in the mess tent, in the trench, up in the watch tower together, sleeping side by side in the shade of a building when they weren't on duty or beside a campfire late at night among several others holding mugs of coffee. Three things could generally be counted on, Riza would be serious, Havoc would be goofy, and they would both be carrying some sort of firearm in sight at all times. "We were in the same unit," Riza explained when Zeke glanced up at her inquiringly. "So we were always together.

"Where's Uncle Roy?"

"That was before we met on the battle field," the Flame Alchemist explained as he picked up the bags and transported them to the kitchen. "I'm fairly sure I'm in there before that part, though."

"Really?"

"Turn the page," said Riza, and soon they came across several photos of her in military academy. Her uniform was a dark grey, and in some of the pictures appeared very young versions of the officers they knew today. Pictures of medals and trophies with her name on them for excellent marksmanship marched their way across the page, along with the occasional picture of her studying under a tree outside a brick building or with a group of people taking part of a mock mission.

That area passed quickly, and by the time Roy returned they were setting aside that album and picking up the third. This one was black, and much older than the first two. The last page, as they began at the back again, was taken up by a newspaper clipping yellow with age announcing the death of the famous fire alchemist Hawkeye, who had used his alchemy for the betterment of the town for the last couple decades. The one before it showed a grave with flowers beside it bearing the same name, and beside it pictures of Roy and Riza in all black in a funeral type procession. Riza's hair was long again, perhaps even longer than it was now, and her features had a softer feel than after her time at the academy and Ishabal.

The few photos before it were of an old, but well-built house on a hill with a few trees around it and a swing on the front porch. Among them were pictures of Riza and Roy as a very young man and woman, both doing their tasks in the said house with the man that was Riza's father generally in the background somewhere. Roy drawing arrays at a table as his Master watched over his shoulder, Riza serving her father his breakfast with an apron on, Roy and Riza posing with the old man between them for a formal picture.

There was one image of Riza putting a blanket over Roy as he slept at the worktable, Winry thought the picture was very adorable herself, but she was surprised when Riza reached past them and instead touched the photo beside it bore the picture of her father with a flame in the palm of his hand.

"He was a good man," was all she said, but Roy seemed to understand as he put a hand briefly on her arm. "A good alchemist."

"I didn't always agree with him, but I try and be the alchemist he wanted me to be, one of the people," the Brigadier General added seriously, motioning for Winry to turn the page when the moment stretched on too long. Both of them grew younger as the pages turned, Roy eventually disappearing completely and a few pages later a beautiful blonde woman appearing instead after another procession of black clothes, somber faces and grave stones. Zeke recognized his father as a boy in one picture as obscure relatives began to make their presence known, and his other aunts and uncles as well. Eventually, the last picture of Riza was shown, a mere babe newly born in her mother's arms. There were a few pictures of her mother and father alone and with family. Finally, on the first page, there were two final pictures. One of her parents sitting under a tree as her father offered her mother a flower and another of them standing together on their wedding day.

"Wow," was all Zeke could say as Roy quietly withdrew, Winry murmuring something about a drink of water before she escaped as well. "That was…wow…"

"I've had an interesting life," Riza replied as she closed the book for him, putting it away with the other two in their designated box and putting on the book shelf as always. "Most of the pictures were given to me, and after my mother passed I just kept adding to what she had started before I was born."

"Can I start an album?" asked Zeke as he remembered the photos they'd brought from his home that were being kept in storage. "I've got all kinds of pictures I could put in it, too."

"I suppose so, though we'll have to buy you an album," she replied as Beth entered the room, running to give them both a hug as soon as she found them.

"Gracia's cat is gonna have kittens!" she announced, referring to the stray the Hughes had taken to feeding as it was more than happy to stay outside and seemed to keep the mice away. "Its tummy's all big and hard!"

"Really? Can I see?" asked Zeke, not waiting for an answer before he dashed to the other side. Riza was happy to follow at a more sedated pace as Beth wondered aloud if they would keep them all or give some away. Black Hayate was kept from the mewling bundle of fur as a game of chase would hardly be good for the gray tabby right then, and Roy had to admit as they stood around and admired the feline that it was a cute cat for missing half an ear and having a crooked tail.

-0i0-

The first monthly dinner Riza had with her grandparents after the children came to live with her was a nervous expedition all around. Zeke and Beth had only been told that her father's parents were very kind and generous but that her grandfather had been military since he'd been old enough to join and he supported her career choices entirely. That, of course, wasn't much to go on, so dressed in their best and standing before a very nice home set far back from the road just outside of Central both kids were experiencing butterflies in the stomach in a way that made them very fidgety and Riza wondered if this venture was such a good idea after all.

The door was opened by a servant in a gray uniform, ushering them in to the front hall to take their coats before being escorted to the usual drawing room. There was a fireplace in the center of one wall, the chairs grouped around it and a chessboard set up to one side as always on a small portable table. Her grandfather sat in one of the chairs by the fire, puffing slowly on his pipe as he studied the board with hooded eyes.

"Your granddaughter, sir, and her charges," said the servant as he held the door open for them, closing it immediately behind them with a soft 'click'.

"Hey, you're the Fuhrer!" cried Zeke as he spotted the old man, pointing a finger accusingly at Riza an then her grandfather. "You didn't tell me he was your grandpa!"

"I honestly didn't consider it that important for you to know," admitted Riza as the old man rose to his feet with an amused chuckle. "I completely forgot you had already met…"

"At Central, yes, but not in the comfort of my home," he put in as he shuffled towards them with his cane. "Good to see you again, my boy, and you too little girl. You'll have to remind me of your names, my mind isn't quite as sharp as it used to be."

"Don't let him fool you," added Riza with a wry smile. "He's still the master strategist he was as a young man."

The Fuhrer laughed as he held his arms out for a hug, Riza complying before kissing the weathered cheek affectionately. "Well, I wouldn't say that…it is good to have you here, Riza."

"It is good to be here."

"Now, names." Grumman studied the pair for a moment, Beth clinging to Riza's leg with wide eyes and Zeke standing beside her with a frown. "You can call me Mr. Grumman or Papa, whichever you're more comfortable with. You're family, and it's been a very long time since we've had young people around. Now, what can I call you?"

"Beth," said Riza when the little girl refused to let go of her leg, picking her up carefully so the hem of her dress stayed down. "Aren't you going to say hi?" The little girl buried her head in Riza's neck, watching the old man through a curtain of her caretaker's hair.

"Beth, a pretty name for a pretty girl," the Fuhrer said as he smiled at her kindly, getting a shy smile in return. "And you, boy?"

"Zeke," said the boy as he regarded the old man with a curious look. "Are you really a master strategist?"

"That's what they call me," he admitted with a shrug. "Perhaps over a game of chess we could discuss whether that is so…?"

"I don't know how to play," said Zeke as he eyed the board. "M'not real good at those kinds of games."

"Oh, we'll see about that…"

"Riza, is that you dear?" asked a soft voice as her grandmother floated into the room, a tiny woman with spectacles perched on the end of her tiny nose while her well-padded frame took tiny steps towards them. "Oh, look at you…and who is this pretty little girl?"

Her grandmother was quick to gain the trust of little Beth, and was soon talking to her in a low tones as the Fuhrer walked Zeke through the basics of the game. Eventually, dinner was served and they moved to the one of the dinning rooms, seating themselves along the fairly small table they reserved for such familiar affairs. The five course meal was a novelty for the children, who were unused to such fine settlings, and it was an adventure teaching them the proper fork and knife to use at the proper times for each new serving. The talk was light and innocuous, skirting over anything that might actually be meaningful as they progressed through the salad, soup, vegetables, meats, and finally dessert.

With the sun setting, the grandmother told the children she wanted to show them some of her flowers on the veranda with a promise for hot chocolate if they behaved. Beth was reluctant to leave Riza, who was asked to accompany her grandfather back to the drawing room, but eventually agreed when she was assured the separation wouldn't be for long. Out the door they trooped, the Fuhrer only pausing for a moment before he led Riza back down the hall.

"A game?" he asked as he motioned to the board, setting the pieces back to rights from his early explanations to Zeke. "Black or white?"

"You're always black," she replied as she sat down across from him, helping him rearrange things with the white lined up across from her. "You like to give the illusion of control to your opponent by letting them make the first move." She picked up a pawn and moved it forward a space.

"But there is so much you can tell about a player by their opening move, though. Are they offensive? Or defensive? Cautious or bold? Upon this you can base your entire strategy, if you know how to read things correctly." He smiled as he moved a pawn himself. "You are as cautious as ever."

"Caution is what has kept me alive these years in the military," she replied as she moved a knight. "And my fellow officers."

"Oh, caution is not such a bad thing, not a bad thing at all," he replied with a chuckle. "You know, Riza, perhaps you should finally be less cautious yourself and let me set you up with that fine man I was telling you about…"

"As much as I appreciate your effort to secure great grandchildren before you die, no thank you," she replied with a sigh, smiling wanly at the familiar exchange. "I seemed to have skipped a step in the normal progression of things, and for now it is probably best that I concentrate on the children rather than my own personal life."

"He loves kids, I bet he'd get along with them great," he coaxed her genially. "Or does already. He works at Central, you know."

She rolled her eyes and moved a bishop with two fingers, only to wrinkle her brow when he captured it a moment later. "So you have mentioned before."

Grumman laughed, twiddling the end of his mustache merrily. "Really, Riza, I know you would find him very attractive and an attentive mate…"

"Don't you think you should ask him what he thinks? Before you go offering him to me, that is. He may already have someone else in mind." Riza gave him the usual exasperated look, but he ignored it and moved his queen, effectively cutting off half of her defensive line.

"I doubt it; he hasn't been the type to settle down for years." He rubbed his mustache as he as he considered the pieces laying before him. "I'm sure he's ripe for the picking though, much longer and he'll be stuck with whatever's left over in his generation of women."

"So I'm a leftover," teased Riza as she evaded his trap, moving her king to safety though she had to sacrifice the other bishop to do so.

"Oh, you're as good as your grandmother at twisting my words," he hmphed with a grin as he sprung a second trap, this one effectively catching her king. "Check. And that is not what I meant. But are you both older than most of the single folk these days, I'm sure I could convince him to take you out once if you let me. Just to see if you like him."

"So you can get us married the next day? Thank you for your concern, but I am fine on my own," she laughed as she gave up within another two moves and knocked her king over before his invading force. "Checkmate."

"You're losing your touch, giving in that soon," he teased as he noticed the door opening to allow his wife and the children entrance, a servant following them with a tray of steaming mugs. "Ah, you're back! How was the veranda?"

"The flowers are pretty," said Beth softly as she climbed into Riza's lap, the woman unthinkingly shifting herself to accommodate the young girl. The mugs were passed around, and as they enjoyed the sweet treat together Grumman brought Zeke over and began to take him through the game once more. Riza spoke with her grandmother about their new home, and the way it was set up with Gracia sharing the other half, and Beth listened to everything going on around her with her usual wide-eyed look.

Eventually it was time to leave, the children yawning and even Riza looking a bit tired as Grumman escorted them to the door still discussing the tactics of chess with the boy.

"Do you still have the old chess set?" he asked as they stood together on the porch once more bundled up in their coats against the chill spring evenings.

"Yes, somewhere in my closet," she replied with a hint of surprise. "Why?"

"Give to the boy so he can practice until next time."

"Yes, sir."

"When are we coming back?" asked Zeke as they got in her car, waving to the Fuhrer as he watched them leave from the porch. "He was kinda cool."

"Next month," she replied as she lifted up her arm so Beth could snuggled beside her. "Why?"

"I'm gonna practice so I can beat him!"

The sharpshooter gave the boy a surprised look. "You think you can?"

Zeke set his chin mulishly. "I know I can."

Riza held in the laughter that threatened to bubble to the surface, replying instead, "We'll see about that."

-0i0-

Usually too long didn't pass until Gracia would need a night out of the house, and with Maes gone Riza would be dragged out for an evening on the town. Every two or three times this occurred it would be on a week where Winry was visiting so she would be invited and now that Maria had become a good friend of Gracia's she agreed to come as well. The girl's night out was agreed up, the date set on the calendar in red marker so none of them could forget. The only problem: who was going to baby sit?

Gracia's usual sitters were Riza and the girl down the road, but with the girl pregnant and only a week from being due and Riza going with her for the evening it left them in a bit of a pinch.

When Riza had posed the question in general to her subordinates the next day as a chance to earn some money silence had filled the room, Ross only barely managing to hide her amusement as they all paled and did their best not to meet her inquiring gaze. Havoc had the excuse that Sheska had finally agreed to a date, though it was a bookstore, Fuery and Falman claimed prior engagements as well. Kants begged off on practicing with his guns, and Breda reminded her he was afraid of dogs and wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Black Hayate too. That left Brosh and Marshall, who both stammered out a general excuse on not being good with kids sans their primary caretakers and left it at that.

The Brigadier General walked in right about then and asked what the fuss was about. His Lt. Colonel quickly explained the situation and he beamed as he told her he would be more than happy to watch the kids and dog for her and Gracia. In fact, he was a little miffed that she hadn't thought to ask him first.

Three days later with four inquiring sets of eyes watching him as the door closed and the ladies pulled out of the driveway he wondered what had possessed him to say so. In general Roy liked kids, they were innocent and sweet and everything he had destroyed within himself during the Ishabal war. They were the hope for the future. But he also didn't have much experience with them as far as care giving went except what he saw in the presence of their mothers or guardians.

So when Beth suddenly said she was hungry and the other two chimed in as well to him the logical thing was to ask what they wanted. That didn't prepare him for the flood of answers.

"Chicken!"

"Roast pork!"

"Maybe sliced beef?"

"Mashed potatoes!"

"No, fried squash!"

"Carrots and peas!"

"What about rolls?"

"Or toasted bread?"

"Grilled cheese!"

"There's no tomato soup, though."

"That's gross!"

"Is not!"

"Grilled ham and cheese?"

"Oooh, and sliced fruit!"

Roy felt something akin to a headache coming on so he grabbed for the first thing he heard that he knew how to make from the rush of words pouring out of their mouths.

"Macaroni and cheese it is!" he declared as he scooped up Beth and Elysia and headed for Riza's kitchen, Zeke and Hayate close on his heals. "And maybe some cookies if you're good for desert."

"Will you make them fresh?" asked Beth as he set her and Elysia down beside the stove.

"Um, maybe, but first the mac'n'cheese." He began to dig through the drawers as Zeke pulled out the needed ingredients, coming up with the pots and pans required before shooing them all to the kitchen table and telling them to play nicely while he made the food. Macaroni and cheese was something he had once made by rote before the days of taking women out on an almost daily basis after the war. It shouldn't be too hard to remember, right?

He boiled the water, putting the noodles in and setting the lid on top before looking at the cheese and trying to remember how to make the sauce. Milk was used, he was sure of that. Butter, too, but was it flour? And there was something else, he was sure of it. Hoping his hands would remember how much when his mind didn't he put a sauce pan on another burner and started to pile things into it, turning the heat on low and mixing it all together.

His concentration was so great that he didn't notice when the kids began to play a game of chase around the kitchen and living room, even when this game came perilously close a few times to interfering with his work. Taking the noodles off when they were done, he was in the process of running cold water over them when Black Hayate tried to dart through his legs, Zeke running too fast to stop and unable to get out of the way when the sudden contact sent Roy reeling away from the sink. The two collided, sending the strainer full of noodles up in the air where they all watched in slow motion as it cascaded out of the pan and onto both males and the rest of the kitchen.

There was a moment of silence before Black Hayate barked loudly and began to eat the spilled noodles, lapping up the tender pieces of pasta eagerly as Roy emitted a high whimper.

"Sorry, Uncle Roy," said Elysia as she and Beth helped Zeke to his feet and brush the noodles off of him. "We didn't mean to…"

"It's alright," he sighed as he stood as well, picking the noodles off his shirt and dropping them to the floor. At least he wouldn't have to feed Hayate later. "Dinner might be awhile, I'll have to make some more. Stay in the living room this time, ok?"

"Ok," they chorused, filing out of the room as Hayate continued to eat to his heart's content. He barely remembered to turn the heat down on the sauce, saving it from burning as he filled the pan with water and noodles once again. Cleaning himself and the counters while watching the pots carefully, he tasted the sauce and thought it was close enough to the usual to pass for tonight. Pulling out plates, cups, and spoons, he quickly had everything prepared and served up before calling the kids back in a second time.

They sat down and ate quickly, complaining only a little about the taste and the way the sauce stuck to the roof of their mouths. He told them just to drink more milk, and soon they were rinsing the dishes in the sink and putting the remains in the already-stuffed Black Hayate's bowl. Pulling out a package of cookies instead of making them fresh from his coat and sharing it among them for desert, he was surprised at how quickly the round treats disappeared given how much the small ones had already eaten.

Having not learned his lesson from the last time, when the food was gone and the kitchen relatively put back to rights, Roy asked, "What now?"

Once again, there was a veritable flood of answers.

"Alchemy stuff!"

"Tea party!"

"Coloring?"

"Chess!"

"That's boring!"

"Is not!"

"What about dolls?"

"That's girly."

"It's fun!"

"It should be something you all enjoy," broke in Roy quickly, wondering how exactly Riza and Gracia managed to control them so well all the time. "Otherwise it's not fair."

"Alright."

Beth's face suddenly lit up. "Detective!"

"Yeah, that's a great game!" agreed Elysia eagerly, both of them looking at Zeke who shrugged.

"Ok, that's fine with me."

"You're the detective, Uncle Roy!" decided Elysia as she got paper and pencils for everyone, passing them around to Zeke and Beth. "You're gonna go in the other room, and we're gonna write down clues and you gotta guess what the clues are about! It's something each of us has."

"Ok…"

The Brigadier General didn't entirely understand the rules of the game, but allowed himself to be led back into the kitchen where whispers and soft murmurs eventually reached his ears. When they called him back, he sat with them on the floor and read their clues one by one.

Yellow, brown, and black.

"Hair?" he guessed as he looked at them all, Zeke sighing in as Beth clapped her hands happily.

"I told you it was too easy," he replied roughly.

"Then try again," offered Roy as he got up and went to the other room once more. They went through a few rounds like this, sometimes someone else playing the detective but for the most part the children content to let him fill the role.

He was getting tired as time wore on, yawning occasionally as he read the clues and tried to guess, so when it was quiet for an unusually long time he was content to let it be until loud shrieks could be heard from the other duplex. As his head jerked up he saw the clock attest to the fact that nearly thirty minutes had passed and when it comes to kids he knew that was a very bad thing indeed. He was through the door like a shot, the scene before him unfolding to reveal a laughing Beth, Zeke and Elysia sitting on Gracia's kitchen floor covered in what looked like finger paint and splashing it on each other.

"What happened?!" he cried as his face fell with the mess, though it was hard not to laugh at Zeke who had a ton of pink sprinkled across his shirt with smatterings of purple and red in his hair.

"We were just painting," explained Elysia as she grinned guiltily. "Zeke said pink was a sissy color, and I said he should have some on him 'cuz he's a sissy and it got a little messy from there."

"…oh."

Somehow that still didn't explain why there was paint across some of the cabinets and Beth was using the paint on the floor to doodle pictures on the tiles, but somehow with children the most rational of thoughts are never thoughts that immediately come to mind. It took a few minutes for him to collect his scattered wits, giving a hoarse laugh when he realized the mothers would be home in less than thirty minutes.

"Ok then…Elysia, where's the towels?" She told him and he soon had them all out of their clothes and wrapped in the terrycloth blankets, shooing them into various bathrooms to clean themselves while he took care of the kitchen. Stripping off his button up shirt, he stood there in his undershirt as he wiped up the paint and cleaned the floor, counter and table until they were spotless. Setting the almost empty paint containers and drying pictures on paper aside, he finished just as the three met once more in the living room in their pajamas with damp hair fresh from the baths. Elysia had helped Beth so the little girl could get all the paint from her hair.

"Good," he told them as he checked to be sure they didn't miss a spot. "Ok, everyone back over to Aunt Riza's side, its story time."

So it was like that, seated on the couch together that the women found them a little while later as they trooped in the front door. Maria said goodnight as she left almost as soon as they arrived, Gracia taking Elysia to her side with Winry a few moments later after thanking Roy for helping out which left Riza and her kids alone with the exhausted man. He noticed her eyes held the slightly softer glimmer they tended to acquire when she'd been drinking in small quantities. That was usually just enough to loosen her tongue, and he wondered what the conversation had been about around the dinner table.

"So, they were good for you, sir?" she asked as she escorted him to the door.

"They were fine," he replied with a light shrug though his smile was a bit strained. "What are a few children after keeping an eye on the men during a mission, right?"

"Very true, sir." She paused in opening the door for him as something caught her eye, reaching up to pluck a forgotten piece of macaroni from his hair with a questioning look in her eyes.

"I'll see you in the morning, Lt. Colonel," was all he said, turning and leaving with a faint flush.

The blonde woman immediately turned to the kids, holding up the macaroni as Zeke flushed as well.

"Uh, Black Hayate knocked him over on accident while he was making dinner," he said as he glanced away, adding quietly, "I kinda helped…"

"Riza, I think they had a paint war again," commented Gracia as she stuck her head back in the room. "It's a good thing I got the water-based ones this time.

Riza sighed with a slight smile as the kids ducked their heads with guilty smiles. At least she wasn't the only one that had had a rough evening…

-0i0-

_Earlier that same day_

Riza had always prided herself on being better than average when it came to sensing traps, so when one was closed around her like a noose on her neck she came closer to panicking than she had in years. Really, the signs were there, she should have seen them from a mile away. Maria and Winry had been a bit quick to agree to go along with Gracia's impromptu night out, their schedules a little too free for women who were always busy. The fact that they picked a restaurant Gracia knew Riza loved should have been a sign, as well as when the older woman ordered a margarita for all of them as a treat upon arriving. And while the alcohol content in such a drink wasn't high, Gracia also knew that it didn't take much more than a few sips to loosen Riza's tongue on anything personal.

So, tucked away in a dark corner of the seafood place with their meals ordered and the second round of margaritas on the table, the unshakable Hawkeye experienced her first instinct to flat out run and hide for her life in several years when Gracia flat out asked, "So, what is going on with you and Roy?"

Somewhere in the coherent part of her mind buried beneath layers of shock she noted she'd forgotten how straightforward the woman could be with some alcohol in her, but that was quickly taken over by the need to save her drink as it nearly tumbled from her nerveless grasp. Thankfully, only a small amount splashed on the tabletop and it was easily mopped up. A glance around the table showed an amused Winry with a flushed cheeks and Maria studiously focusing on the cup in front of her but with an ear cocked in their direction and her chair blocking Riza's only hope of escape.

"The hell…you tricked me," she accused them with a wry bark of a laugh, leaning back in her chair as she ran a hand over her face.

"Yeah, and you won't leave because you've got a freshly baked platter of salmon and lobster on the way that you know you love," Gracia replied knowingly with a somewhat feral grin. "And Maria has graciously agreed to make sure you don't leave that spot as long as you don't pull a gun on her. So, explain."

Riza was tempted to get up and try to leave anyways, she could probably goad Roy into buying her another meal like it later…deciding that train of thought was entirely too dangerous with the present company, she quickly banished it and tried for tactic number two. Apparently the small amount of alcohol in her system, though, was like kryptonite for her super-like glaring abilities. Even Maria just chuckled in amusement when she turned the supposed death beams in her direction, and Riza knew that was never a good sign.

"Can I ask what prompted this?" she hedged carefully, deciding to at least attempt to put up a fight rather than lie down and go quietly.

"The man is at your duplex at least three or four times a week, usually more, with the fraternization laws gone and the kids becoming very attached to him with the constant contact. He helps Zeke with his homework and plays with Beth on the floor, very father-like qualities, and is constantly helping you with chores or the housework whenever he comes over. You even let him help you in the kitchen, the sacred domain of Riza, which I'm not even allowed to do unless it's an emergency," Gracia said as she ticked the items off her fingers. "I've seen the way he watches you when you're ignoring him, and don't think I didn't notice you watching back when he was helping Zeke clean out off the shed in his undershirt. You generate more sexual tension than dogs in heat! So why the hell are you being so stubborn?"

Winry at least had the grace to blush when Riza looked over at her, but Maria just watched the unfolding scene with a sense of deep amusement at watching her hardened superior officer be raked over the coals by a tipsy housewife.

"It has been remarked on more than one occasion that Roy Mustang spends an inordinate amount of time with you and your charges during after work hours," the Sergeant replied when she received a questioning look from her superior. "Many of the gossips at Central already have you in bed together and the Flame Alchemist out shopping for rings on the weekends…"

The markswoman shook her head, sighing as she did. "Really, the Brigadier General-"

"Roy," Gracia interrupted her firmly. "You're not in uniform and he's at your house watching your kids for free so you can have a good time out with us. Call him Roy."

"He's watching Elysia, too," pointed out Riza flatly.

"Yes, and I call him Roy, too," came the smirking reply.

"Fine, Roy is a good man, but I'm not interested in a relationship right now with him or anyone else," she explained as she fidgeted with her drink, taking a slow sip when she was finished. "My main priority is to raise Zeke and Beth the best that I can. If the…if Roy happens to spend a great deal of time with them in my home it does not imply anything is happening in our friendship. Winry spends a great deal of time with Private Kants, or Oliver, whichever. I don't see you haranguing her."

"She just met Kants," pointed out Maria as she nibbled on the cherry that had come with her drink. "They don't have over ten years of history, which rumor has it includes an ongoing affair that reached an interesting peak around two years ago when Fuhrer King Bradley was finally overthrown."

"Rumor is just that," Riza growled back, though it was unconvincing even to her ears. "A rumor."

"So you've said before, but I know for a fact he wasn't the only one receiving 'special care' when you stayed with him…did you ever wear a nurse outfit while giving him his 'medicine'?"

And thus came the second time Riza fought the run and hide instinct that welled up inside as a high squeak emitted from her throat and she flushed brilliantly in mortification. "Gracia!"

"I didn't think it was as innocent as you both proclaimed," the woman crowed triumphantly as Winry's eyes grew round. "And considering the color of your face, I would say it was a very memorable experience."

Sighing, she muttered to herself in a voice so low few caught it, "It couldn't have been that memorable, he left me…" Maria had the grace to give her a look of pity as Riza sunk down in her seat, the waiter saving her from further mortification for the moment as he served their food. The smell of her salmon and lobster revived her enough that she could enjoy the succulent flesh as she ate it in small bites, but she was constantly glancing at Gracia who was enjoying her own meal of filleted salmon and fresh shrimp. Winry was experimenting with a dish of frog legs, which she said didn't taste that much different from chicken, and Maria seemed very content with her crab platter.

Conversation seemed to revolve mainly around the food, everyone sharing pieces of theirs around with the others though only Riza seemed brave enough to try the frog legs as well. Deeming them edible but not among her favorite foods, she commended Winry for having the guts to try something new with pointed looks that Maria and Gracia easily ignored.

About the time they were contemplating whether they wanted a third round of drinks Gracia finally dropped the final bomb, one that far outweighed all previous 'attacks'.

"So, when are you going to finally give in and invite the man to spend the night? And I don't mean sleeping on the couch, either, and your room is sound proof, right? You know he won't make the first move this time around."

The mixed look of shock, utter bewilderment, a small dose of wonder (was her room soundproof? Not that it mattered, of course…) on Riza's face was absolutely priceless. "Gracia Hughes," she said as she rubbed her forehead in frustration. "You are an evil, evil woman."

"Yes," the said woman agreed with a ghost of a smile. "But now he'll be stuck in your head all night and maybe you'll work through some of these problems out of desperation for sleep rather than just ignoring them."

"I can be very good at ignoring irritating thoughts," Riza reminded her with a hint of smugness. "Especially about Roy Mustang. He may be attractive, and we may have a past, but that doesn't mean I want him to hold any particular significance in my life other than as my superior officer at work."

"Then you admit you find him attractive?" pounced Winry with an interested look. "I never knew tall, dark and handsome with an eye patch was your type."

"He's the most sought-after military man at Central for a reason, you would have to be blind not to see that he is attractive," the sharpshooter argued as she rolled her eyes. "There are some men, like Roy, where it doesn't matter if they're your 'type' or not, almost every woman is going to find them pleasant to look at. Whether they would consider dating him is another matter entirely."

"He does have that Xing influence that makes him exotic without being foreign," Maria added with a nod. "He most certainly isn't my type, but you're right, he's pleasant to look at."

Winry's lips curled slightly. "If he isn't your type, Riza, what is?"

The question was beyond loaded, and every woman at the table knew it. Unfortunately, Riza's pride and Maria blocking her exit route (why was it wrong to pull a gun on a subordinate again?) wouldn't allow her not to answer. She was tempted to say wild horses were her type, but somehow that didn't seem intelligent considering the position she was currently trying to take, so that also took out the labels of men with a fiery, confident personality, guys with good smirks, and fellows with dashing good looks. Feeling military men, guys who look good in blue or love to wear gloves might carry the same hazards she was forced to go with the one description that came to mind that seemed relatively neutral.

"They have to love dogs."

If Riza hadn't been one hundred percent serious, her tablemates might have outright laughed at her. As it was, Maria's eyes sparkled in amusement and Gracia muffled a chuckle with her hand.

"Really, they have to love dogs," she repeated when Winry raised one brow slightly. "If they don't love dogs, Black Hayate will try to bite them every time they try to enter my home, let alone try to touch me. There is no room for a male in my life that doesn't love dogs."

"So that includes everyone in the office, save Breda," Maria pointed out with a soft snort. "So…all the men in the office are your type except him?"

"Private Kants is a bit too young," Riza admitted, making a face as she did much to Winry's obvious relief. "Fuery too short, Marshall too stupid, Falman too boney, Havoc too smoky, and Roy too cocky…I suppose none of the men in the office are my type." There, that was the truth; she hated it when the man was too full of himself to admit he needed help from others.

"Hm, I recall you saying he hadn't been a cocky bastard since he returned…"

Damn, she'd forgotten about that. How the hell did Gracia remember? The waiter came by with their check, leaving it off to one side with everyone waiting for her response. "He's Roy Mustang, he will be a cocky bastard eventually," Riza said with a confidence she didn't feel. "And when he is I will once again wonder why the hell I still work for him as I resist the urge to shoot him."

"If that's the case, why are you still working under him?" asked Winry curiously.

"It's not unusual to have a superior that you would like to shoot or wring the neck of occasionally," admitted Maria as she made a face. "Honestly, the Brigadier General is probably the least irritating superior I have had to date."

"He's also been on his best behavior since his return, so it isn't a true representation of his nature," Riza pointed out quickly. "He can be a very irritating man when he sets his mind to it."

"I'm sure…"

"Well, it's getting late and we should probably leave before I drink more than I should," said Gracia as she got to her feet, only a hint of a flush high on her cheeks and the bill long since taken care of. Winry was perhaps the most unstable on her feet, the young woman not quite used to drinking alcohol, ever, but with Riza supporting her on one side they easily made it out the door and to the car.

The ride back was fairly quiet, Maria leaving as soon as they arrived and Gracia and Winry departing for their side of the duplex a few moments later. If the Brigadier General noticed she had the faint glow in her eyes and relaxed posture that meant she'd been drinking some, he didn't say anything and was soon gone leaving only a guilty Zeke and Beth in his wake.

"Off to bed," she told them as she walked them up the stairs, tucking them in. She would have to be more on her guard the next time Gracia suggested a girl's night out, especially with where she sat.

-0i0-

And that is chapter 8. Hope you guys enjoyed it, the review replies are right below this. For the record, we'll be returning to the once a week update schedule, with one week getting two updates (I'm just not sure which one) because we're still one update behind from the break.

Reviews:

Ruki44: Pretty interesting indeed. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

FFVII : Ok, you're the one that's taking it waaay too seriously. Look, I think Roy knows Havoc is not actually going to break his legs. I mean, c'mon, he's in a wheelchair for crying out loud. However, there is something to be said for people knowing that there are others who care about them. Also, Roy did do something incredibly horrible. He left when things were at their best, and that's not exactly something I would call normal or healthy in a relationship. Roy isn't relying on the men to take care of his problems for him, but they have stepped up this time and are simply telling Roy that Riza isn't one of his play things to toy with whenever he feels like it. She's their girl, their big sister, and they'll stand up for her if he decides to turn running away every time they get together into a habit. That's nothing more than good big brothers should do. Hope you enjoyed the update regardless.

Jacksparrow589 : Yay for finals being over, hope you did well. Yeah, gotta love Riza's big bros. :) Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Dailenna : Oh yeah, Roy totally wants some blonde hawk in lap time. Not gonna happen anytime soon, though! Oh and so you don't get your hopes it, that school thing was just to show Riza's being a good mom figure. Yeah, there is the whole issue with school safety and stuff, but I wasn't planning on really using it at all. Poor Kants, he's about to get dragged into a lot of stuff he doesn't quite understand, oh well. Thank you for the many praises, and can't wait to hear from you again. Thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy 25 : Oh, I forgive you for not reviewing all the time. It happens. Get more sleep, it makes life better. Glad you liked the chapters, and can't wait to hear for you again!

Bar-Ohki : Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

Jennlyn78 : First time reviewer, WOOT! Thanks for the many high praises, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story as it progresses. Can't wait to hear from you again!

SxL : Less Winry/Kants now, and only a little bit in the next chapter, I think. Don't worry, they do have a purpose! Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it.

Cheeseycraziness : Another first time reviewer, WOOT! I'm just glad to have a review period, no matter when it comes in. Glad you enjoyed it, hope to hear from you again!

Hawkeye Chuui : Hawkeye?! As in THE RIZA HAWKEYE?! WOW! What an honor! ; ) Glad you enjoyed it either way, and let me say it tickled me to no end that 'Lt. Hawkeye' was reading the story and loved it. Hope this is soon enough, and that you continue to enjoy it. Thanks for the review!

Crystal Mage: Aww, thanks! The wedding went very well, just very tiring. Well, something like a time skip, think of it like Naruto filler only better, because it's only gonna last for two chapters instead of 50 some episodes (I wanted to cry…) Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Kurissyma san Tybalt : I don't think I've ever mentioned just how interesting I find you name. It's very unique. Sorry that I made you miss the bus, I hope it was worth. I hope your sister didn't murder you too, that tends to get messy… Thanks for the review!

Leigh : Again and again and again thank you very much! I don't think Riza ever wears out, she's super woman with a gun. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for the review!

Bizzy : Havoc just seems like the big brother type, him and the rest of the guys. And who else would they choose as the little sister but Riza? It's so sweet…thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the update!

Blknblupanther1 : I am so proud of myself, I just spelled your name right on the first try for the first time! Oh, and even if I change the characters names, if I use the basis of the world (alchemy, the gov't set up, the personalities of the characters themselves) it would be enough to sue me with if whoever made FMA got their hands on it and got mad. Yeah, not a good idea. Thanks though, and glad you enjoyed it!

Causmicfire : Riza likes to say things rather formally at times, but not without sounding stuffy. Instead she sounds very intelligent and well-educated. Thanks for your many kind words, I hope you weren't disappointed with the update!

-Kai Isolated- Aw, you're too kind! It's Roy's on fault he missed what he missed, so don't feel too sorry for him. About how long it's gonna be, well, I can't see us going over 20 total chapters, but right now I've got up to chapter 13 at least partially written out and there's at least two or three chapters after that, maybe more. I hope that's satisfactory for the moment!

Yun Min : Riza's is super woman. Plain and simple as that. Besides, I was up and out the door every day for highschool at 6:20 to make it there on time, it is possible. It just turns you into a zombie occasionally. Hope you enjoyed it!

Anne Packrat : I enjoy the get together too, it seemed like a logical, Riza-idea that would keep the men together without taking Roy Mustang's place.

Dennisud : Lol, here's Winry, Riza and Maria's talk, and it didn't quite go like the boy's did. I'm glad you're willing to accept the alternate pairing for this fic, it means a lot to me as an author. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for the review!

Humor Queen Merc : Oh, there will be a discussion between Riza and Roy at some point, the question is, how's it gonna end? Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Dreximgirl : Glad to be of service, I hope you continued to enjoy it. Thanks for the review!

That's it for now, folks. Until next time!

CB

_It's not my anti-social, I'm only anti-work, golly-Moses, that's why I'm a jerk!_

_-Officer Krumpky, West Side Story_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine, chapter nine, hey everybody it's chapter nine! Sorry for the wait, guys, the new laptop decided it would stop working for awhile, and by the time I got it working again I was past my update time once more. My most heartfelt apologies! Thanks for the many wonderful reviews (more than 16 within the first 12 hours!)

-0i0-

Beth slept longer and harder than any child Riza had had contact with to date. She generally started getting tired as soon as the sun went down, and was often completely conked out on the couch or in someone's lap by the time her 8 o'clock bedtime came around. In the mornings, Riza would carry her over to Gracia's couch, and the woman said on occasions the girl had been known to sleep as late as nine or ten in the morning before waking up and eating breakfast. On weekends she was generally up by 8 even if they'd had a late evening the night before, but Riza suspected Roy's taking them to the park had something to do with it.

So when Gracia had a routine doctor's appointment one morning and couldn't watch Beth until close to lunch time, Riza had been at a slight loss as to what to do. Cancelling her morning practice with Ross out of necessity, she had shown up a good thirty minutes early with every intention of finding some way to situate the girl on one of the couches before everyone else arrived.

However, when she tried to put the little girl down, having carried her from the car, Beth had actually opened her eyes and pouted.

"Can I stay with you?" she asked, clinging to Riza's neck tightly. "M'tired."

"You can sleep on the couch, here," Riza replied, pulling a blanket around the small body. "I'll be just in the other room…"

"Wanna stay with you!"

Unable to resist the plaintive voice, especially since it was such a rare occurrence, at her desk Riza sat with her uniform jacket hanging on the back of her chair and Beth snuggled into her chest. The little girl's legs were hanging off to either side of Riza's lap, with her hands trapped between them clutching her guardian's shirt.

The Lt. Colonel was actually surprised how much heat the little body on her chest generated as she carefully leaned her chair back just far enough to make Beth comfortable while she could still reach the first of the reports she had to read.

When Roy came in, he did a double take before his mouth curled into a warm smile. "Gracia was busy?" he asked quietly as he came alongside her.

"Doctor's appointment," she replied with a short nod. "She'll be by later to pick her up."

"Good, we have another meeting to attend this afternoon, elected government has decided to make several changes to the laws concerning the Ishabalan populace, and our leader wishes to give them our full support. Do you need anything taken to be filed?"

Riza was a bit surprised, but handed over the reports she had already finished, watching him disappear from view as she expected him to shove it off on the first person he came to. Instead, he actually filed it himself and on his way back to his office told her to call him if she needed anything at all.

It wasn't unpleasant, exactly, the way the small body was completely relaxed into hers and would sometimes shift around a bit as the little girl drifted in and out of her dreams. One hand absently ran through the blonde hair, gently tucking it behind the ears when it got in Beth's face. Really, breathing in time with the girl and hardly moving except to sign each paper as she finished inspecting it, Riza couldn't remember when she had been so relaxed at work, ever. Granted, it felt a little wrong to have her uniform jacket off; it would be considered extremely unprofessional if one of the higher ups were to walk in right then, but when it meant Beth would be more comfortable without it she honestly didn't care.

Riza was just finishing one of her stacks when the little body in her lap stirred, Beth raising her head and wiping her hair back from her eyes as she looked around sleepily.

"How are you feeling?" her guardian asked as she paused in her work, sitting back so she could see the girl's sleep-flushed face.

"Good," she mumbled back. "Thirsty, though."

Riza handed her the cup of water she kept on her desk, helping her drink from it slowly before letting her settle back in place.

"You can draw or something, if you want," she offered, moving to uncover some scrap paper. "Or visit everyone outside; they'd probably enjoy the break." The little girl shook her head, burying herself back in Riza's ample chest as though she never meant to leave it.

Havoc popped his head in around ten, a smile lighting up his face as he found the pair in the exact same position as before. "So that's why you're not patrolling the room," he said with a laugh, rolling over quietly. Beth opened her eyes and blinked at him sleepily before turning away and burying her head back in her living pillow. "Gracia's busy?"

"She'll be by soon," Riza replied as she checked the clock on the wall. "Is everyone behaving themselves?"

"Breda thought you might not have showed up at all when you never came by to file your papers, especially when the Brigadier General came out and took care of it instead. Ross told him you've been here the whole time, he just couldn't think of what would keep you in your seat and was afraid to come and check if you'd brought Hayate with you like you used to."

"No Hayate, just Beth," she replied, feeling a little sleepy herself as the small body wriggled itself into a more comfortable position.

"I'll make sure they stay quiet out there," he said as he left to get back to his work, giving Beth one more warm smile even if she couldn't see it before he rolled out the door.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

When Riza felt herself yawn for the third time in a row a few minutes later, she knew she was in trouble. While she had been tired at work before, especially after a string of sleepless nights or something equally strenuous, it had never been like this. She didn't feel the physical ache of strained muscles or the brain fog of missed sleep. This was more like being so relaxed and warm she just wanted to close her eyes for a bit and drift off. Roy walked through right about then, offering to take her new stack of completed work to be filed once more when he caught her yawning behind her hand.

"Tired?" he asked, leaning on her desk for a minute.

"No, well yes, but not really," she replied, turning her seat to face him more. "It's difficult to explain…"

"Not really," the Flame Alchemist chuckled quietly. "You aren't actually tired, what you're suffering from is child-napitis."

"Child-napitis?" she replied dourly. "Did you just make that up, sir?"

He flashed a confident grin. "Possibly. You have all the symptoms, though. Yawning, relaxation, and a small person attached and sleeping to your body. There's just something about kids when they fall asleep on you that makes you want to sleep for a bit too. Go ahead and nod off for a bit if you want, I can keep an eye on the boys."

"And lose my reputation when someone glances in unexpectedly?" she replied with a soft snort. "Thank you, but no thank you, sir."

"Have it your way…"

Gracia stuck her head in right then, a bright smile on her face as she did. "Riza? I'm here to…oh, hello Roy. How are you today?"

"I'm fine," he replied, giving her a quick smile. "Here to pick up Beth?"

"Yep. Has she eaten yet?"

"Not yet," Riza replied, shaking the small girl carefully until she opened her eyes. "Beth, look who's here. Gracia's come to take you home for the rest of the day."

"I can't stay?" she asked, sleepily rubbing one eye with a balled up fist.

"No," Riza replied with some regret. "I have to finish my work so I won't have to stay late tonight. Ok?"

"Ok…"

Passing Beth off, Riza watched with a hint of sadness as the pair left and her stomach suddenly felt distinctively less warm. Clearing her throat when she realized the Brigadier General was still there, she stood up and picked up her jacket, quickly buttoning it into place and instantly feeling much more professional. Not better, but certainly more ready to finish her job.

"We'll see her tonight," Roy offered as though trying to console her somehow.

"I know, sir," she replied, straightening her uniform slightly before taking the papers for him in a business like manner. "However sir, there is still work left to be done. Have you finished your requisition forms? They're due by the end of the day."

"No, not quite," he admitted, turning back towards his office with a dry smile. "I think I liked you better with Beth sleeping in your lap."

"I think no work would get done if I were permanently attached to my chair, sir."

"You're probably right, Lt. Colonel," he admitted with a low chuckle. "You're probably right."

-0i0-

Paint.

Noun. 1. A substance composed of solid coloring matter suspended in a liquid medium and applied as a protective or decorative coating to various surfaces, or to canvas or other materials in producing a work of art. 2. An application of this. 3. The dried surface pigment: _Don't scuff the paint._ 4. The solid coloring matter alone; pigment.

I.E. something that children should typically _never_ get their hands on.

However, that didn't stop Beth and Zeke from begging to help when Riza finally decided to use the weekend to paint their bedrooms as originally promised. The colors had already been chosen, a light blue for Beth and a deep hunter green for Zeke, the paints bought and the trays and brushes prepared, all that was left was the final application of the paint itself. This, as any kid knows, can be a lot of fun.

As any adult knows, it can also be very, very messy.

Of course, when the pair went to Roy with their request for help in getting Riza to let them help, the Flame Alchemist thought it was a wonderful idea and immediately set about persuading Riza to let the kids do just that. When he offered to help, to alchemize a protective covering over everything in the room, and bring some of his own old shirts the kids could wear to protect their clothes most of Riza's past arguments were moot. She wasn't so sure he knew how to paint, but Roy assured he was quite adept with the paintbrush and could always alchemist any mistakes that were made.

So, the kids and Roy were allowed to help.

Does anyone else still see this as being a bad idea?

Saturday came, a rainy and unpleasant day which made everyone glad there had been no plans to go to the park, and while Roy did alchemize a few vents in the walls so no one would get too brain fogged off the paint fumes and did the protective coverings over everything it didn't take long until they were ready to work. Beth and Zeke both wore only an old pair of shorts and the t-shirt the Flame Alchemist had brought for them, while both adults had on old clothes of their own. Long hair was tied back, the paint was stirred up and poured into trays, and everyone was given their particular corner of the room to start in before the first brush was dipped and the painting began.

Beth and Zeke shared a wall, one that happened to be mostly covered by a low bookshelf, the dresser and some pictures most of the time, while Roy and Riza where on either side of them with a wall apiece. They still managed to finish before their younger counterparts, however, and together they managed to also finish the fourth wall and help Zeke and Beth reach the upper portion of their section within a relatively short amount of time.

Surprisingly enough, there were few spills and very little to clean up, and since everyone was still in a rather good mood Roy suggested they move on to Zeke's room.

The hunter green was brought out, the paint stirred and poured in the freshly cleaned trays and brushes rinsed and dried before put into the new color. The sole difference between Beth's room and Zeke's room, though, was that though the rooms were the exact same size, Zeke's was partially vaulted because of the way the roof tilted up at that point to make room for some sort of ventilation thing or other. The point was, there was an area of wall about nine feet at its high point that was difficult to effectively reach even with a roller on a stick.

As such, a chair was rigged with some wood Riza had left from fixing the shed in back with a little alchemy into a ladder of sorts that looked a little wobbly at times. Roy assured her it was perfectly safe, but that didn't mean she let the kids get on it. Instead, it was the Brigadier General who was banished to the top to paint the small area that no one else could reach. Everyone else was making good headway, getting the walls and corners that could be reached, when there was a creak from the ladder and both adults looked down to find a crack splintering up one of the legs.

"Roy," Riza called in warning, but it there was nothing she could do but pull Beth and Zeke out of the way as the ladder slowly began to fall…

Not much else did anyone rightly recall until afterwards, the chair-ladder-creation in a couple of pieces on the floor and paint everywhere. Everywhere, that is, except on Roy.

Zeke had a nice wet stride splattered from the top of his head all the way down his back and left leg. Beth somehow got away with just a few spots on her shirt and face. Riza, however, was covered from the crown of her head to her knees and quickly spreading downwards in the dribbles of dark green paint.

Roy laughed for about thirty seconds.

That was when he realized everyone was glaring at him, especially Riza.

Things didn't seem quite so funny after that.

Needless to say, the poor Alchemist was left to finish and clean up on his own, and after that Riza took care of all the painting on her own. After all, as every adult knows, paint is very hard to get out of one's hair.

-0i0-

Zeke thrived at his school, especially with the alchemy program, and despite the fact that he started the term somewhat behind his peers with the help he received at home in the evenings and the patient tutoring he received within the classroom he was quickly caught up and generally working towards the head of his class. Though not the strongest or the fastest when it came to the physical sports they would play in gym or at recess, he showed an aptitude for the mental side of his education that made him a joy to have in class and gave him an edge in the alchemy program. He memorized the book Pinako had given him, as promised, and with the books he checked out of the school library read up on some of the simpler alchemic theories and the people who'd created them he was well on his way to a solid education.

The teacher of the alchemy program only had basic alchemic talent himself, but this generally sufficed for the level of aptitude his students showed while they were in his care. Much of the time was spent practicing the drawing of arrays until the students could do it blindfolded, after all if they messed up the array the transmutation could backfire and harm the students if they weren't careful. It was only after weeks of focusing on the same array until they had it perfectly were they allowed trying to transmute something. Like water into ice, or vice versa. Simple, basic work that rarely had any potential to be dangerous in the least.

So when a speaker for the class dropped at the last minute, Zeke asked if he could bring a visitor to the class from the military to do some demonstrations for them. Getting permission to do so, he asked Uncle Roy at the dinner table that night and with the Brigadier General certain he could get off early enough to attend the end of the session the date was set.

Three days later, the alchemy program met as usual with an undercurrent of excitement. Of course, Roy wouldn't be there until the last half, so the teacher settled them in and they began to go over the array they had begun studying at the beginning of the week. When the halfway point came, the students were released for a short break to stretch their legs and the teacher pulled Zeke aside.

"Are you sure he's coming, your Uncle Roy?" the man asked, knowing nothing about their visitor other than that particular title and that the man was a licensed State Alchemist. "You said he was to arrive a few minutes ago…"

"Zeke? I'm not late, am I?" Came a familiar voice as a tousled black head stuck itself in the room, several students watching curiously.

The teacher straightened, more than a hint of awe in his voice as he said, "Zeke, is this…?" He eyed the badges and tassels that lined Roy's jacket with obvious admiration.

"This is my Uncle Roy," he announced proudly as the man entered the room fully. "Come on in, you're right on time."

"Ah, good, your aunt tried to keep me for paperwork again. We had a ceremony to attend, dedicating that new building the military has renovated for Ishabalan refugees. She probably won't be happy that I left her with so much to do when I take you home tonight," he replied with a sheepish look, turning towards the teacher. "Hello, I'm Brigadier General Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Thank you for inviting me to come and speak to your class."

"O-of course, sir," stuttered the teacher as he quickly stood aside, motioning for their guest to take his place. "Please, go right ahead, we look forward to hearing what you have to say."

"I don't have anything prepared," the Alchemist admitted as he moved to the front, nudging Zeke back towards his chair. "However, I understand that several of you are interested in becoming State Alchemists, so I thought a question and answer time might be appropriate."

"Are the State Exams as hard as they say?" asked an older boy in the back, one of the senior students of the class who would likely graduate within the next year or so. "I heard they only accept one or two candidates a year."

"That's true, though this last year three new candidates were accepted, a standard which may become permanent in the years to come," Roy replied quickly. "To receive the title of State Alchemist, you must not only have the talent and the drive but also the creativity to be more original than your opponents."

"How did you receive your title as State Alchemist?" asked another boy towards the front, perhaps a year or two older than Zeke with thick glasses on the bridge of his nose. "A lighter can make a flame."

Roy reached in his pocket, pulling out the right glove and putting it on. "Yes, but a lighter requires fuel. All that I require is a spark." He snapped his fingers, a flame forming in the palm of his hand off the sparks he'd created as he continued to transmute just enough oxygen to keep it alive. "I do not require wood or gas or anything that a normal flame requires, just enough air around me so I can transmute the oxygen to keep the sparks my gloves create alive."

"Yeah, but you'd be useless in the rain," pointed out someone towards the front. "Especially if your gloves got wet."

"Not true." Roy picked up the glass of water the teacher had on the table, getting a nod of approval from the man before he headed towards the door and motioned for them to follow. "Just because I cannot make sparks doesn't mean I lack the ability to make fire." Obediently they followed to the courtyard where he drew a transmutation circle on the pavement and pouring the water in the center. With hands ready, he warned them to stand back before creating a chemical reaction with the hydrogen and oxygen in the water, resulting in a minor explosion. It only scorched the cement beneath it, but he drew another circle and erased the marks the flames had created before standing up once more.

"Any questions?"

"Do you have to be standing next to something to set it on fire?" asked another, Roy immediately putting on a glove and snapping his fingers to make fire appear in midair at the far end of the courtyard.

"Next question?"

"Can you make more than one flame at a time?"

He snapped his fingers again and this time twin fireballs alighted and died beside them, just close enough that the students could feel their heat.

"Brigadier General!" Everyone turned to see the Headmistress marching towards them, a controlled look of politeness on her face. Roy had never met her himself, but the way Riza and Zeke both described her suddenly made sense. "I see you are having a…demonstration of sorts with the students…?"

"One of your students asked me to come and fill in for a speaker for the class," he explained, locking his hands behind his back as he stood tall. "You have many very curious students in your school, ma'am."

"Yes, we do…I would merely request that you keep your…demonstrations to a smaller scale while on school property," she replied as the class let out a collective groan. "Some of the students' parents may not appreciate the large pyrotechnic displays as their children do. And as it is their parents who pay the tuition, it is their parents that I must please."

"Of course," he agreed quickly, face heating slightly with the hidden reprimand in her words. "I understand completely."

"Good. Then, carry on."

"Perhaps it would be best if we took this back indoors," suggested the teacher as the Headmistress took herself away, everyone filing inside as the Brigadier General removed his coat and hat.

"Well," he said as he sat the teacher's desk, the students finding their seats once more. "Anything else you'd like to see? On a small scale?"

The requests were still as avid as before, even if a flame the side of his fist didn't have quite the same splendor as a flame the side of a small car. Zeke's standing in the class rose quite a bit when his Uncle called him up for more than one demonstration ("His guardian won't blame the school if he gets a bit singed," being his primary excuse) besides the fact that he was on first-name basis with a very cool State Alchemist. Class ended on a high note with Roy making a rope of flame twine itself around the room over the student's heads, bobbing and weaving like a Chinese dragon before disappearing altogether.

Everything seemed to go wonderfully, the teacher sincerely asking the Brigadier General to come another time the next term and the alchemist enjoying the way the students' attention stroked his pride enough to agree to do so immediately. Once in Roy's car they discussed some of the theory Zeke had been learning, and all together the alchemist thought it to be a very productive day.

That is, until Riza found a mark on one of Zeke's sleeves.

"Sir, why does Zeke have a burn on his jacket?" she asked as she fingered the charred spot with a dangerous look in her eyes.

Inwardly he cringed as he gave a weak grin and shrug. "Uh…oops?"

"Sir…"

He waved his hands and quickly promised to buy Zeke another jacket as they settled around the kitchen table. Ah, well, if you played with fire you were always going to get burned…

-0i0-

The months passed and the days grew warmer and longer, Riza anticipating nothing changing in her schedule until Zeke came home with a note one day. Considering that she hadn't had any problems with him doing his work or being competent in his classes all year, the request for a meeting the next day during her lunch hour was most disturbing. The boy immediately declared it couldn't be him because he was doing just fine in his classes and always behaved, which she immediately followed with the comment that that better be the case for his sake. She wouldn't hold back if he was lying to her face about it, and she was fairly sure he knew what to expect if that were to occur, too.

A polite note in return was sent, she would be there promptly at 12:15 the next day, which Zeke dutifully bore to the office the next morning. So when her car pulled up in front of the school at 12:14 she was more than a little curious to find the Headmistress outside waiting for her expectantly.

"Thank you for making time for this short meeting," Mistress Hoffenbeck said as she led the way through the front door, turning towards a wing Riza was unfamiliar with rather than the main offices. "This should not take long."

"I appreciate that, though I admit I am confused as to why you require my presence," admitted Hawkeye as they paused before a large set of finely carved double doors in a very elegant foyer. "If this is not about Zeke, why am I here?"

"As I'm sure you're aware as we've invited you in years past," Mistress Hoffenbeck began with a subtle smile. "The Rochester Academy always ends the term with a formal gathering. This is mainly for the teachers, parents and older students of our school, but many notable and wealthy figures always attend as well. The military presence has been lacking these last few years and in a show of support the Fuhrer himself has agreed to attend. However, with his presence comes the matter of security…"

"You want me to attend to keep an eye out for trouble and eliminate it before it occurs," the Lt. Colonel finished, everything suddenly making sense. "I am a logical choice because I teach your seminar every year and now have a student of my own who attends so my presence will not be considered…strange."

"And you are the crack shot of Central. I have no doubt in your ability to arm yourself without detracting from your…formal wear," Mistress Hoffenbeck agreed quickly.

"Our dress uniforms leave plenty of places where one can keep a protective device," Riza replied simply.

"Excellent. The Fuhrer has already assigned one of the upper officers to detailing general security for the event, two men will be undercover among the hired workers, and another will be your date for the evening. There will be others, I understand, on backup in the next building and on the roof next to us should you require extra help. The Fuhrer's presence is being kept quiet until the event itself, only myself and one other in the office know of it, and we're hoping that by doing so we can keep the security to an absolute minimum."

"It seems you have thought of everything without me," Riza mused as the Headmistress moved to open the large double doors. "So, who is it I will be working with?"

"Easy with that, Kants, we don't want…oh, there you are Mistress Hoffenbeck, we were just finishing up here." The confident smirk of her superior officer met her as the doors swung open, Havoc sitting beside him with a notepad in his hands and Fuery, Falman and Breda rushing around checking the various rooms. "Hello, Lt. Colonel, looking forward to being swept around the dance floor for an evening?"

"Please tell me this is a joke," Riza asked the Headmistress flatly as the Brigadier General turned back to their men, all who wore amused expressions that they tried to hide. Except Havoc, he almost chuckled aloud as he worked while watching the pair. "Though, if it is, it is certainly not funny."

"I'm afraid I do not see why you would think this a joking matter," replied Mistress Hoffenbeck with a look of confusion as she went on. "The Fuhrer assured me this would be the best unit at Central to assist you in this mission. Was he mistaken…?"

"No, the Fuhrer just has an odd sense of humor at times," Riza replied a tad dryly. "How are things coming, sir?"

"We have everything organized as agreed," Mustang announced as he turned towards them once more. "Fuery and Falman have been assigned to the company that Mistress Hoffenbeck hires her workers for the evening from, the company had already been contacted and the positions explained. Breda, Brosh and Marshall shall be on backup, Havoc and Kants on the roof next door to keep an eye out for suspicious activity, and Ross was already invited as another Lt. General's out of uniform escort so she will simply be alert should we require any help. The Fuhrer will, of course, have another solider from his private guards with him at all times so we will not be required to have one with him. His wife is not accompanying him to this event. Fuery is setting up a com station now to keep the men on the roof and the ones on backup connected. He will be checking in with them periodically through a third station he will be also setting up. Which of course leaves me," the Brigadier General held a hand out to Riza invitingly, "To be your date."

The Lt. Colonel ignored the hand, turning to the Headmistress with a stiff nod. "It seems everything is under control. I believe that is all you require me for…"

"Not quite," broke in Roy as two other figures materialized at the door, turning out to be Gracia and Maria with wicked smiles on their faces. "You see, you're not going in uniform either, and since Gracia checked your closest and you have nothing to wear for this event you've been given the rest of today off along with Ross to go shopping for your dresses."

The Headmistress watched the dynamics between the two with more than a little interest as Riza went from murderous anger to complete acceptance and all the shades in between within a matter of moments. "You are a very bad man, sir," she informed him with a sigh, giving a proper salute before turning to join the other women. "I will hopefully be back in time for the evening meal."

"Don't worry about dinner, Zeke or Beth," he called after her with a grin as she left the building. "We'll take care of things on that end."

"I was unaware that you knew the Lt. Colonel personally," said the Headmistress as she watched the Brigadier General survey his men. "The Fuhrer made no mention of it, and you did not say which student you were asked into the classroom by…"

"Of course he didn't," Roy replied with chuckle. "Lt. Colonel Hawkeye is my aide and direct subordinate, all of the men here are under both of us in my command. That is what the Fuhrer meant when he said we would be the best unit to work with her."

"I see…have you worked together a long time, then?"

"A very long time," he agreed with a slow nod. "I should thank you, Mistress Hoffenbeck. It is not often we're allowed the privilege of seeing our girl in a dress."

"You would've last year, sir, if you'd been there," pointed out Havoc with a lopsided smile as he rolled up beside him, little Beth seated in his lap. "Is this munchkin staying with me, then?"

"Hi, Uncle Roy," she said softly though she was staring at the Headmistress with her eyes opened wide. "Is Aunt Riza here?"

"She just left, but you'll see her tonight," he promised as he pat her on the head, the little girl beaming up at him. "Now be a good girl and stay with Uncle Jean, ok? He's going to take you back to Headquarters with Uncle Ollie. I have to finish a few things here and then we can play."

"Ok!"

"I was also unaware that you were active in the Lt. Colonel's personal life," the Headmistress added as they both watched the pair roll away towards the doors where Kants was waiting for them. "She has never mentioned a significant male presence in either her own or the children's lives."

"We're a very close-knit unit, ma'am, more like family than comrades," he replied by way of explanation. "And in families you take care of each other."

"So I see."

"Excuse me, sir," said Fuery as he quietly broke into their conversation. "I need your signature on this equipment request…"

"I'll leave you to it, then, Brigadier General, we're both very busy people with a great deal to do," said the Headmistress as she turned to leave as well. "Please inform me if you require anything."

"Of course."

"This should be pretty easy," Fuery comments as Roy signed on the necessary lines with his usual smirk in place. "There's only two ways in, few places to hide, and with the star guest list being kept quiet…it might even be boring it's so easy."

"Plan some distractions for your self," said his superior as his smirk noticeably widened. "I know I am."

-0i0-

Kants wasn't happy.

A month after meeting the lovely Winry Rockabell he'd finally worked up the courage to ask her out. She'd said yes, and they'd had a great time at a nice restaurant he liked the very next night. Since then, he'd been trying to work in more time with just the two of them alone every time she came for a visit. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but he had finally gotten a chance where both of their schedules would be free for two nights in a row and he'd had the greatest ideas of where to take her and what to do and then his superior officer had to go and blow it on a stupid dance.

Winry had been planning to stay an extra day, just to make it work, but upon finding out he was required to work guard detail the first night she decided go home at her usual time. That meant both dates were blown completely, and that did not make for a happy Kants. Especially since Winry had finally let him kiss her the last time they'd been together, and he was really hoping to test the waters with her on one of their two evenings out. She had the softest lips he'd ever felt…

What gave Roy Mustang the right to trample over everyone else's plans in his pursuit of Riza Hawkeye? Couldn't he just…kidnap her for a weekend or something and just get it over with? He knew logically something of the sort would never, ever, ever happen and the barest suggestion that it might in the Lt Colonel's presence was asking for a slow and painful death. That still didn't make him feel any better about it.

"Still upset about losing the dates?" asked Havoc as he rolled by the Private's desk, getting a muffled grunt in reply. "Aw, don't sweat it kid, you're still doing better than your superior officers."

"I fail to see how," Kants muttered darkly, unsure of which officers Havoc was referring to.

"Well," Havoc started, shifting the unlit cigarette in his mouth. "Starting from the top you have Mustang, who wants Hawkeye and has for years, and Hawkeye who wants Mustang and has for years as well. They're still not together, they'll probably both put lots of time and energy into this whole thing coming up and swear its just for the sake of appearances and only get as close as dancing on a public floor can get two people who aren't supposed to be 'together'. Me, I'm still trying to get Sheska to come around, have been for a long time, and it sure as hell ain't working. Breda's been trying to get a steady date for the last couple of years, and has failed. Fuery gets dates occasionally because he's so cute and naive and stuff, but nothing serious. Brosh has been trying to get into Ross's pants for as long as he's known her, and Ross is obviously not interested and occasionally goes on dates of her own but supposedly has nothing serious as well.

"Now, you met Winry, what…three? Four months ago?"

"Four and a half," Kants replied automatically, flushing afterwards. "Or so."

"Four and a half," Havoc corrected himself with a smirk. "You forgot Warrant Officer Falman, though."

"Falman doesn't count," the Lieutenant replied with a snort. "But that's besides the point, because he's been pursing that girl for at least the last two years. Now, four and a half months, and Winry's already pretty attached to you. You said she wasn't happy about canceling them, right?"

"Right."

"Then you're doing better than most of us! You've at least got a girl to be upset about having the date canceled in the first place. We don't even have that!"

"Well…I guess you have a point." He suddenly smirked. "Maybe I should give you guys pointers, you might need it."

Havoc whacked him lightly with a stack of papers, "Don't push it kid."

"Alright, alright…"

-0i0-

It was a rare occurrence for Zeke to be alone in the kitchen with a quiet Hayate under his feet as he worked through his math problems. Voices floated from Riza's cracked bedroom door in low murmurs that only occasionally raised themselves high enough for him to catch a few words. Considering how displeased Riza had been when Gracia had forcefully injected herself into the bedroom, he was surprised they weren't raised more often. He had been told with no room for doubt that he could not go into Riza's room until one of them told him otherwise, and from the sound of things it would probably be awhile yet.

With a small smile as something about how many guns Riza would be carrying reached his ears, Zeke put aside his pencil for the moment and once again imagined how cool it would be to protect the Fuhrer undercover at a formal gathering. Where would Riza have her gun? Her purse, probably, but her arm holster would be useless with the dress that he'd only gotten a glimpse of earlier. A leg holster? He'd seen some in her stash of arms that was always locked up, then wondered for a moment how that would work when the doorbell rang.

The creak of the door swinging on its hinges met his ears after he yelled it was open, Hayate sitting up and wagging his tail happily as Uncle Roy rounded the corner in a full set of tails and a top hat. A glance outside showed Private Kants waiting patiently beside the still-running car in a crisp, dark gray valet uniform.

The Flame Alchemist was resplendent in the black tuxedo, the fine material tailored to fit his trim figure with rich, emerald brocade as his vest and his white shirt crisp underneath. His State Alchemist watch sat in his bread pocket, the silver chain draped across his chest, with silver cuff links at his wrists and a perfect bow tie at his throat. Not even his eye patch, a special silk one to match, detracted from his appearance.

"I take it she's not quite ready yet?" he asked as he leaned over the young boy, studying his work with approval. "I wouldn't be allowed back there to check on her, would I?"

Zeke snorted. "Doubt it. They threatened _me_ with bodily harm if I dared to go in…she might actually kill you."

"Ah, valid point."

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going…" Gracia appeared a moment later, looking very pleased with herself as Elysia and Beth were in tow. "She'll be right out, Roy, she just needed a moment to herself. Zeke, she wants to say goodbye to you real quick."

"I'm sure," the alchemist replied with a knowing looking, the mother having the grace to look a little embarrassed as Zeke slipped past her into the bedroom. She probably had been a little strong in her desire to help, but it was for a good cause, after all!

"You look funny," Beth declared as she looked up at him, her nose scrunched slightly.

"You don't like it?" he replied as he held his arms out. She shook her head, and he sighed with a smile. "Well, it's only for tonight, ok?"

"Ok."

"C'mon you three, the roast is in the oven and I need help setting the table," said Gracia as she took the girls' hands. "Say goodbye to Uncle Roy, he's gotta wait for Aunt Riza for tonight."

-0i0-

Zeke was a little apprehensive at first, but the sight of Riza fussing with a pair of earrings as she looked at herself in the mirror was so unusually feminine for her that he had to chuckle softly.

"Do I look that silly?" she sighed as she glanced over, giving him a wry grin. "I told Gracia it was too much…"

"No, it's just strange to see you all dressed up," he replied, glancing towards her open closet where a line of neatly pressed uniforms waited. "Uncle Roy's here…"

"I heard him come in," she replied quietly, giving everything one last check and wondering why she was bothering so much with the details as she picked up her small clutch purse. "Well, I suppose that's everything. You know you're staying with Gracia tonight, right? I'll be home late, don't try and wait up for me."

"We'll be good," he replied with a slight smile as he gave her a hesitant hug around her waist. "Try not to be too hard on Uncle Roy, ok?"

She smiled slightly. "I make no promises."

-0i0-

The look on Roy's face had been very gratifying, and the way Kant's jaw had dropped just plain amusing. Make up was something she wasn't a stranger to, but the extensive application required for such an evening, plus the required undergarments, special shoes and perfect accessories, made her wonder if it was really worth it. One hand absently stroked the sage green fabric of her bodice, a strapless affair with a cream-colored wrap to cover her shoulders.

Ignoring the surreptitious glances her superior was giving her out of the corner of his eye, she checked her hair and makeup one last time before watching the passing building outside. One hand strayed to her throat where a silver pendent rested on a fine chain while the other held the matching purse in her lap daintily. Silver grey shoes peaked from under her hem, silver-bound pearl drops handing from her ears. Her hair was down, hanging freely over her shoulders in a soft gold cascade Roy longed to run his fingers through but her voice snapped him back into the present.

"Where are your gloves, sir?" she asked as she noticed the plain backs of his current pair.

"Here," he said as he pulled them out of his pocket. "They're a bit noticeable, we're not supposedly to be advertising our presence tonight."

"The older students will likely recognize me," she pointed out as Kants pulled up in front of the school. "And some will probably remember you from your alchemy 'demonstration'."

"The point is not to conceal who we are," he replied as he got out, letting Kants get her door though she was on his arm as they turned towards the entrance. "The point is to conceal the fact that we are armed and dangerous. How many guns are currently hidden on your person?"

"Three, plus two knives, an extra pair of your gloves you left in my care and a lighter," she replied simply, a pleasant smile on her face as though they were chatting of inconsequential things. He could tell by the way her eyes remained somewhat lifeless that it was purely a front. "Wolves among lambs, sir?"

He smiled back, his mask also in place for public appearances. "Wolves among lambs."

-0i0-

The Headmistress was very pleased. The decorations, invitations, cleaning, security set up, guest arrival and following entertainment had all gone as smoothly as one could have hoped and even better at times. The Fuhrer's appearance was a pleasant surprise for the parents, and with his apparent support of Mistress Hoffenbeck's institution made several forget any regrets they may have had over the school's tuition payments. The Brigadier General didn't bother to try and blend in, more than a couple of parents looking for a leg up for their promising young alchemist in the family besieging him with questions. At the same time, several of Riza's graduating male students blushingly asked for a dance no matter how protectively Roy tried to loom over her in the background between besiegements.

It wasn't that long before the Fuhrer took his leave, his total visiting time having been just under two hours, with both Roy and Riza shadowing him until he was back in his car with his guards around him once more.

"I suppose our job is done," the Lt Colonel sighed as they headed back inside, moving towards the check-in where Roy's coat was being stored.

"No, you're still on staff as an instructor," Roy replied as he easily led her past the clerk and back into the main room itself. "Besides, we haven't danced yet, and how can you attend an event with such fine music and not dance?"

"You haven't danced," she pointed out dryly. "I have danced as much as I care to for one evening."

"How can that be, if you haven't danced with me yet?" he asked as he swept her onto the floor, pulling her closer than he'd dared in a long time. "Don't tell me those boys were better dances than I."

"No," she replied as her eyes drifted over his shoulder, refusing to meet his gaze. "They stepped on my feet repeatedly, which is why I would have preferred not to dance again."

He just smiled all the wider, twirling her elegantly among the other dancers. "That should make you appreciate being with me all the more." The corner of her mouth curled upwards ever so slightly, but she didn't say anything so he continued to follow the pattern of the music until they moved into a slow waltz. A more attentive follow would be hard to find, he loved the way he could deviate from the normal step and she would never falter just beside him. Bringing her in closer to skirt past another couple that flowed past them, he smiled all the more when she didn't stiffen up or try to regain her space once they were in the clear again.

Over her shoulder, he noticed Falman and Fuery watching from the sidelines with the other servers, giving him a knowing look when their eyes met. What could he say? She was beautiful, and a wonderful dancer, and the fact that she might shove a gun in his gut if he pushed the line just made it that much more appealing for some reason. Turning so his back was to them, he let out a soft laugh when her eyes narrowed predictably at the sight of their subordinates across the room watching.

"You haven't told them they could go home?" she murmured, glancing up at him furtively.

"Falman and Fuery have to stay, its part of their position," he replied with a vague shrug. "Havoc and Kants are probably long gone, they were ordered to pack it up as soon as the Fuhrer left the premises, and to pass the word on to the others as well. Ross is still here, but she can't leave until that older gentleman who's her escort leaves as well. Who is he anyways? I couldn't see his face."

"Lt. General Denton," she replied with a quick glance in the couple's direction. "A friend of her family's who has two grandsons graduating from the academy. He enjoys having pretty women on his arm, and she enjoys dressing up, so the arrangement is one that suits them both."

"Ah, I see." Roy waited until they were at the other end of the dance floor, away from prying eyes, before he said, "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight, Riza?"

"I believe the way you were forced to scrape your jaw off the kitchen floor earlier this evening said it all, sir," she replied dryly, attempting to keep things at a certain level though she could not stop her cheeks from flushing ever so slightly.

"What did you expect when you put on such a stunning display," he replied with such sincerity that her blush deepened ever so slightly. "One might even thing you were working to impress someone…"

"Well, of course," she said with a frankness that surprised him. He was about to gloat happily when she added, "My grandfather was here, you know, I couldn't look any less than my very best for him."

"You didn't even dance with him," Roy argued, feeling a pout coming on as she managed to pull away at the end of the song, taking a drink from one of the passing waiters and effectively putting more distance between them for the moment. "Riza…"

"Sir?"

"Roy," he corrected her with a frustrated sigh. She smiled in quiet satisfaction, and he was very tempted to try and find a way to wipe the look from her face. Unfortunately, he could only come up with two options, and regardless of if he spilled her drink down her front or kissed her soundly he had a feeling it would end with a gun in a very uncomfortable position for him. "No uniform, no more Fuhrer, no longer on duty, no more sir!"

Her lips curled impishly. "Is that an order, sir?"

The man sighed, nearly at his ropes end. "Riza…"

"Yes…Roy."

"Thank you." He paused, watching her gaze over the dance out of the corner of her eye. "Some days I think you live to make my life more difficult."

"No more than you make mine, Roy," she replied dryly, the corner of her mouth tugging upwards once more.

"And how I have I made your life difficult recently?" he shot back, feeling a moment of triumph come on as her past list of reasons suddenly fell through. "I haven't made you threaten me to get work done at the office, I haven't incited a single moment of laziness in the men, I've been exactly fifteen minutes late every day, and made up for it by staying late almost every night. I haven't missed a single evening when I said I would be there with Beth and Zeke, I help with homework, chores…if anything one might say the exact opposite."

"You're Roy Mustang," she replied as though that were the only answer she needed, now and forever. "With you, everything is difficult."

"I'll make it very easy, if you want me to," he replied in a low voice that brought the flush back to her cheeks.

"I have no doubt…"

"You just have to let me."

Their eyes met, and he slowly backed off with a sigh when her eyes suddenly took on a somewhat steely appearance. "My apologies," he said after a few minutes of silence. "That was out of line. Do you want to go home now?"

Her head jerked slightly in ascent as she once more refused to meet his gaze. "Yes, please."

"Then we will go."

His coat was easy to retrieve, and after bidding their hostess goodnight waited for the car to be brought around by the valet. Kants was gone, so Roy held the door open for her and drove them both back to her duplex. Helping her from the car, he then escorted her to the porch and bid her a polite goodnight as she unlocked the front door.

"Roy?" she called suddenly as he turned to leave, her body halfway over the threshold of her home.

"Yes?" he replied, waiting for her to speak a few steps away.

"You looked very nice in your tuxedo," she said with a soft smile as she let her barrier drop for a few seconds. "And thank you for the dance."

"The pleasure was mine."

She disappeared after that, and though he hadn't gotten more than a compliment from her the entire evening, the smile stretching across his face was as wide as it could possibly be. Riza, slowing but surely, was coming around.

-0i0-

Mm, mm, m. I hope that was enough Royai fluff for one chapter, I know it's not a whole lot over all but by the end you'll be gagging on it, trust me. :P Thanks for the many great reviews, here's the replies!

Dennisud : Yeah, I figured she'd be the best person to do it. After all, who'd suspect lil ol' Gracia of being capable of such actions. :) And don't think it'll come about two fast, there is no one more stubborn that those two, especially when it comes to each other. Thanks for the review!

OTP : It is a classic. Thanks for the review, sorry the update took so long!

Blknblupanther1 : Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it as always.

Sarah Harrison : Riza wouldn't make a good drunk, but I can see her needing the occasional cup to help her relax with all the stress from the office. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

SakuraTearDrop : Of course she's too stubborn to admit it, she wouldn't be Riza Hawkeye if she wasn't. Don't worry about missing chapter reviews, I'm just glad to know you're still enjoying yourself. Hope to hear from you again soon!

Jennlyn78 : Yeah, I loved photo albums too, and Riza struck me as the type of person that would keep them fairly organized, just like everything else in her life. Thanks for the review!

Jacksparrow589 : Oh yes, Gracia Hughes was definitely being evil, but it was so wonderful at the same time! Word twisting is something all people excel at to a certain degree, I think this particular batch of women would be better than most. Roy's adventer in babysitting was based of several personal experiences with kids (I've been sitting for years) though I can't say I've ever had issues with Halloween make up. Play dough and finger paint, yes, but never makeup. Hope you enjoyed the update, can't wait to hear from you again!

-Kai Isolated- : Glad you enjoyed the chapter, especially Riza's Roasting (I think that's become the official title of that section). Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Winglessfairy25 : Yes, Gruman is the Fuhrer, and Riza may not have known that Roy was the topic of conversation with her grandfather. Roy, obviously, figured it out one way, that doesn't mean Riza ever tried to puzzle it out from the other end. Happy Royai day to you too, thanks for the review!

Bar-Ohki : Lots of fun indeed! Thanks for the review!

SxL : We're always getting closer to Royai. Glad you loved it, thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again soon!

SakuraAyanami : Spoiling you is better than starving you by putting months in between updates, eh? Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Bizzy : I think they do know that Riza was hurt, and that's why they're not constantly hounding her about it. But I think they also realize that it's gonna take some persuasion for Riza to open up to their Brigadier General more. Especially after she's been hurt. Thanks for the review!

Crystal Mage : What's a fic without a time skip, right? Glad you enjoyed the highlights, I tried to keep it interesting. Can't wait to hear from you again, and thanks for the review!

Kurissyma san Tybalt : Ah, I hope you don't hurt yourself scrabbling, in my experience hills are evil things indeed. It is cool that your name is original, that takes a lot of creativity to do something like that. Glad you liked the chapter, and yeah, I love the sacred domain of Riza too. Thanks for the review!

Aindel S. Druida : Sorry you were missing the updates! Mine was disabled for awhile too, it's very frustrating. Glad to know you're still enjoying it, and yeah, I keep forgetting about the eye patch too. It's only in the movie, so it's not quite set in with my mental picture of Roy. Thanks for the many praises, hope to hear from you again soon!

Yun Min : Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Momiji-k : I try to entertain for awhile with each chapter. One typo? WHOO! That's, like a record for me or something. And thanks for being honest, I can appreciate that as a writer. The military family is one of my favorite aspects of this story, so I'm using it as often as possible, and I gotta say even though Roy and Riza are my favorite to me it's just not a good story if the others don't play some sort of role in it as well. Ok, about Gruman's blood relation to Riza. It never specifies if it's on her mothers or her father's side. By name, it should be her mother's, but I think that if her father cut ties with the military (he obviously disliked it) it makes sense that he would change his last name. The irony being that the last name he chose would fit his daughter better than himself in the military. Thanks for the three great reviews, in a row, hope you enjoyed the latest update!

Humor Queen Merc : here's your update! Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Leigh : Happy Royai day back! Glad you enjoyed the chapter, hope you like the update just as much. Thanks for the review!

Cheeseycraziness : Cackles with evil delight as well Thanks for the review!

GreyBlue Angel : I'm doing my best, I hope it's still up to par. Thanks for the review!

Ruki44 : Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

FinlandGirl : I hope this wasn't too long between updates. Thanks for the review!

Causmisfire : Your praises were many, and I thank you very much for them. Definitely the kind of review that makes a writer's day! I hope the wait wasn't too long, and I can't wait to hear from you again. Thanks!

FFVII : The romance is gonna keep building. Really, with the tension between those two, the only way to go is up. The nurse outfit is something I invented. Riza took care of Roy at the end in (I think) her house or his. Either way, it was definitely a whole new level of intimacy for them. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

That's all for now, folks. Can't wait to hear from you all again, until next time!

CB

'One of these days I really am going to kill you…'

-lots of people


	10. Chapter 10

I'm back!! I figure you waited more than a week last time, you wait less than a week this time. Nice, right? Hope you enjoy it!

In case anyone forgot in the last nine chapters or so, I still don't own any of this and I'm sure as heck ain't being paid for it. Suing me is stupid. Thank you.

-0i0-

Little changed with the end of the school year, Zeke and Elysia both ending with high marks and towards the front of their class. With Beth, the three of them happily spent their days together under Gracia's watchful care but the routines established during the school year still remained. Roy came over after work at least a few times each week, and Riza rarely made it home early or later than her normal time. There was the week she took off and her charges accompanied her to a cabin in the mountains with her grandparents, and a week when the pair then accompanied her to the office every day because Gracia and her daughter were visiting relatives outside of Central for a few days, but those times were far rarer than the routine they generally followed.

What everyone was truly looking forward to though was the two week leave in July. Headquarters was run on a half-crew for the entirety of the month, with groups of officers taking two week vacations in shifts. Their group had the first set of weeks off, and Roy had promised to take them all to the beach as usual. Gracia and Elysia were invited along, of course, as was Winry who was planning to spend both weeks with them since everyone (or in other words, Kants) had the time off and could spend it with her.

There were a few key differences to past trips, though. First, they were staying for an entire week. Second, Roy was only requiring people to pay for their train ticket and help with food expenses. Third, he hadn't told anyone that it was Granddaddy Grumman's idea and that he was the one footing the bill for the three story beach house he'd rented, not Roy.

If Riza suspected something, she didn't say a word, and bright and early the day they were to meet at the train station she, Zeke and Beth piled out of the cab they'd shared with Winry, Gracia and Elysia with all of their luggage in tow. Fuery was already there, in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts with sandals on his feet and a suitcase in hand, and Havoc rolled into view from the side with Falman toting a duffle bag for both of them. The rest were not long in arriving, and though seating arrangements were made interesting because not everyone could sit with everyone else. Roy and Havoc ended up facing the three kids, Gracia sat across from Riza and Maria. Winry and Kants somehow ended up at the other end of the car by themselves, and Breda, Falman and Fuery squeezed in with Brosh and Marshall for a game of cards to distract them through the trip.

The ride was a few hours long, but somehow they made it through and piling out of the train quickly managed to procure transport to their home for the next week. Upon reaching it, a few 'rules' were quickly established. As there were three floors, the middle one where the kitchen, sitting room and extra bathroom were located was declared 'neutral' ground. No one could roam there without being appropriately dressed, and it was always open to everyone. The top floor was then declared the women's, because it only had three bedrooms and the basement the men's. Each room had two beds, and both floors had two full bathrooms. No one of the opposite gender could traverse upon that territory without severe repercussions (although the women's revenge on the men should they try and peak would likely be a lot more severe than if it were vice versa).

This of course put Zeke with the guys. Riza wasn't too sure about that until Roy promised the boy would always stay with him, and be sure the men didn't scar him for life by revealing things he shouldn't know about too soon. Somewhat mollified, she only told the boy to come and get her if he needed her and left it at that.

Upstairs she went with the other women, the three bedrooms with two beds each easily being divided among them. Beth and Elysia asked if they could share, which was fine with their care takers, so Winry and Gracia took one room and Riza and Maria the other.

Lunch was a necessity by that point, and finding their fridge and pantry fairly well stocked (once again on Grumman's tab, but Roy kept that to himself) they pulled out sliced lunch meat, cheese, and the necessary fixings to make sub sandwiches with the fresh loaves of bread. Soda and water was passed around to those who want it (all alcohol had been banned from the premises with the presence of children) as was fruit and chips. The women, of course, prepared the food, but in an agreement of equivalent exchange this left the men to clean up afterwards. It wasn't that all the men couldn't cook, Roy was actually known for his fine pastas and Fuery had been known to turn out a nice pie or two at the appropriate occasion, but Havoc had set pots on fire by accident more than once and Breda still was being teased about the time he almost blew up an oven with a roast. As such, they figured it would be safer if the men stayed away from the actual preparation of food for the time being.

"So," said Havoc as the last of the trash was cleared away. "What now?"

Zeke came bursting in from the rooms downstairs, a snorkel and goggles hanging around his neck and his swim trunks in place. "To the beach!"

It only took about thirty seconds for the entire room to dissolve into laughter, but they took the suggestion to heart none the less and were soon on out on the sand by the waves. The house was right on the beach itself, so they packed up the towels, umbrellas, basket of water and snacks, sunscreen, and other things and left.

Havoc probably had the worst of it in his shirt and trunks. His wheelchair wasn't meant for the sand, so they left it behind and he was carried between Breda and Falman. Upon arriving they set up two umbrellas with a set of community towels for people to sit on under them. He was placed there with Elysia and Beth quickly enlisting him in helping them build a sandcastle. He didn't seem to mind playing with the pair as most of the men immediately jumped in the water with Zeke hot on their heals, but somehow he couldn't help the occasional twinge of remorse when he saw a couple of them pick up Maria and tossed her into the waves. He probably would have been the instigator of such things, had he the use of his legs.

He was very glad he wasn't a few minutes later when she got back out and glared at the perpetrators, coming back to the umbrella where Gracia was reading a book in a reclining chair and setting herself down with a huff. The threats she was murmuring under her breath were very colorful, and he was glad the girls were too busy trying to make a tower to pay attention. Although she was very easy on the eyes with the dark brown halter-style one piece she was wearing, he quickly looked away when she glared at him as well.

Riza had left almost as soon as they'd arrived, going for a walk once she was sure Beth and Zeke were in good hands in her usual bathing suit and tee-shirt. It was the same combination she had worn every year, a two piece suit with boy shorts and a top no one ever saw except as a faint outline under her shirt when it was wet because heaven help the man who tried to coax it off of her. Roy never bothered to try, and he had even taken her side a few times when someone had been particularly insistent about it. The excuse was she burned easily in the sun, and her shoulders were always the worst. No one pressed the issue after she actually shot a few rounds over their heads for being irritating their first year together, and anyone who had come in after that was quickly informed of the situation.

A shout and scream made him look up again in time to see Winry resurface with a grinning Kants nearby, the young man immediately in for it as the girl dove for him and managed to dunk him in return.

"Anyone know if those two are official yet?" asked Maria as she was coaxed into helping the girls build another wall around their structure.

"Her grandmother is coming to visit Central during the last week of the leave for a few days," Gracia replied from her seat, not bothering to look up from the pages of her book. "I'm thinking if it isn't right now, it will be soon. What do you think, Havoc?"

The smoker just smiled. "I think Kants is lucky."

Maria raised one brow ever so slightly. "Lucky because he has Winry…or…?"

"Lucky to have a girl that's right for him," Havoc finished quickly, flushing a bit when she gave him an odd look. "What? I'm not gonna say Winry's not pretty, because she is, but she was so young when she first came to Central…I can't help but see her more as sister than a potential date."

"Ah…"

"Aunt Maria, can you help us get water for the moat?" asked Elysia as she held up some buckets, the military woman immediately complying and following her out to the waves. Havoc was a little surprised when Beth chose that moment to climb into his lamp, but he just looked at the little girl as she stared after them towards the water.

"I don't wanna get in," she whispered suddenly. "It's scary."

"Did you tell your Aunt Riza that?" he asked as he tilted his head slightly, giving her a comforting smile. She shook her head; lips pursed as she watched Zeke suddenly go under only to pop back up a second later. "She won't make you go in, but I bet if you did you'd find out it's a lot of fun…" She shook her head again, and he shrugged. "Well, that's fine; you can just stay here with me, then."

"Ok."

"Having fun, Beth?" asked Riza as she suddenly appeared behind them, a small smile on her face as she set some shells down beside their castle. "I picked up some things I thought you might like."

That was all it took to get the girl to her feet and out of Havoc's lap, her small hands quickly shifting through the delicate treasures her caretaker had brought her and exclaiming over the way they looked and felt as she held them up to the light. Maria and Elysia returned with their buckets full, and though the water didn't stay for long in their moat, it still helped complete the over all effect as the large shells were placed at intervals around the outside wall, a few of the small spiral ones were put at the tops of the towers and the most unusual chosen to decorate the sides of the 'fort' at the very center.

"Whoa, that's cool," said Zeke as he came and plopped down beside them, accepting the water bottle Riza handed to him and taking a deep drink. "Do you think it'll last through the night?"

Gracia shook her head as the girls' faces fell. "No, the tide line is right behind us, there won't be anything left by tomorrow morning."

"Aww…"

"That's ok, Beth, I'll help you build another one tomorrow," he said quickly, giving her a gentle pat on the head. "Promise. We can keep the shells from this one when we leave and use them again."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. Wanna come get in the water?" Beth vehemently shook her head 'no', and he groaned softly. "I can't believe you're still scared…"

"It moves!" she argued, glaring as the waves washed up on the shore. "Water's not supposed to move like that! It's scary!"

"I bet your Aunt Riza could protect you from it," suggested Gracia as the said person just sat there in surprise. How was one supposed to argue with a statement like that from a child? "If she can't, no one can. Right Havoc?"

The said man looked up from where he'd been ogling a couple of passing babes with a blush. "Uh…yeah, right. Sure."

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," said Riza as the other men came back in from the water, looking tired and hungry. "You've got a whole week to decide, ok?"

"Ok…"

"How does a cookout sound?" asked Roy as he caught the towel Havoc tossed at him and dried himself off roughly. The fact that he had worn his shirt into the water was looked at a bit oddly, but nobody really blamed him. Havoc didn't like showing off his burn marks either, and the children were too busy having fun to think it strange.

"Burgers and dogs!" crowed Zeke, jumping up excitedly. "Yes!"

"We'd better head back then," said Gracia as she put her book away and slipped her shoes back on. "Everyone will need time to clean up before we eat…"

"What's wrong with eating like this?" asked Breda as he tried to wipe some of the sand from his leg and instead just smeared it across his thigh. The look all the women gave him at one time was enough to change his mind. "I mean, a shower sounds good."

"Where's Winry and Kants?" asked Riza as she helped Beth and Elysia pack up their toys.

"They won't be joining us," Roy replied with a smirk that Riza immediately understood. She smiled as well, though it was far more contained then his. "We'll save them something just in case, but I don't think we'll need to."

"Where'd they go?" asked Zeke from under the pile of towels he carried.

"Out," Riza replied in a tone that implied he needed to know no more than that, so leave it alone. "They'll be back tonight."

"Maybe," Havoc chuckled under his breath, nudging Breda who laughed as well. Fuery just flushed and pretended he hadn't heard a thing.

Despite the usual assumptions that women take longer to bathe then men, when they returned it was Riza and Maria who were the first to arrive in the common room and begin preparations for the evening meal. Roy had been promised he could work the grill, so they waited for him to appear with an eager Zeke at his side and let him at it on the back porch. Riza quietly pulled out the fire extinguisher in the pantry, just in case, and left it in easy reach.

The rest of the men filed in a few at a time with damp hair and fresh clothes, taking seats around the room as Riza finished making a salad and Maria set the table. Havoc was, of course carried up, but no one even made mention of it anymore they were so used to the sight. Gracia was the last to arrive with the girls on either side in clean clothes with their hair braided back. They were about to check on the food on the grill when Roy entered with a flourish, bearing a tray of perfectly cooked meat with a proud Zeke at his side.

"We come bearing delicious meat for all!" Zeke called as they set it on the table, everyone quickly gathering around as buns and toppings were made available for all. The foods were quickly consumed in an air of fellowship, and with the many bottomless pits present the only leftovers were a few chips at the bottom of a bag, a small portion of the salad, and the juice that had dribbled from the meat patties onto the plate that held them.

With dinner done and the sun setting, Zeke begged to go back to the ocean and walk for awhile. It took Roy saying he didn't mind watching the girls and Gracia and Maria heading in town for some grocery shopping to get Riza to give her ascent. As the rest of the men trooped out the door towards the local pub and all promising not to get drunk on their first night out, the young boy and his guardian headed barefoot back towards the waves.

The water was pleasant as it was washed back and forth over their feet and the sun just off to their left as it sunk into the sea. Hues of red and purple danced along the tops of the waves, flickering in and out of sight as they rolled into shore.

"I want to live by the ocean someday," said Zeke as he picked up a broken sand dollar, studying its sand scoured edges. "It's really nice here."

"You will have to accept where they assign you if you become a State Alchemist," she pointed out quietly, scooping up a spiraled shell that caught her eye. "Even if it's the most Northern reaches of our country."

"Edward Elric got to travel where he wanted to," Zeke replied stubbornly.

Riza's smile waned. "Edward Elric was the exception, not the rule."

"Why?"

Riza paused. "Not even I know the entire story. Your Uncle Roy, I believe he saw something in them that no one else did. That is why they were allowed to roam as they pleased. Their goal, their mission was so great that to restrict it would have crippled it permanently."

"Maybe I'll have a mission like that someday," he gushed as he stuck out his chest proudly. "And become just as famous!"

"For your sake, and your sister's, I very much hope not."

"Why?"

Slowly, and occasionally editing the most gory of details, she explained how the Elric brothers had become parentless at an early age and the way they had gone to study alchemy under a very strict teacher. The way they had tried to bring their mother back despite the warnings they received, and the price they paid for it in return. The cost of the procedure alone left Zeke pale, but the hardships that followed seemed to engrave upon him why Riza had spoken so.

"Even had we never met, I would never wish such a life upon you," she said as she paused in her steps, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Promise me…that you will never try the forbidden alchemy. There is a reason it is forbidden, and the consequences are never contained to the person who performed it in the first place."

Zeke was surprised at the strength of her words as he turned towards her. "Aunt Riza…"

"Please Zeke, this…is very important…if not for your own sake, then for your sister's."

He had never imagined such a strong woman coming so close to begging for anything, yet there was no other word for the tone of her voice. Impulsively wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his head just below her chest for his comfort as much as hers, he promised.

"Do you not want me to become a State Alchemist?" he asked as he drew back enough to meet her gaze some time later.

"I want you to understand the risks involved so you can make a wise decision about your own future," she replied, running her fingers through his hair. "If the Military is where you feet you belong, then I will support you whole-heartedly. But if you decide another vocation would be better, I will support that as well."

"Oh."

"Is something wrong?" she asked when he abruptly pulled away, a pained look in his eyes. "Oh…"

"You're still not my mom," he said as he looked at his feet, fists clenched at his sides. "And you've got lots of rules and you have to work a lot and you're usually too tired to play. But…" He trailed off as his faced scrunched up. "But you do the best you can, always, and when things are going good you make a pretty good aunt."

"I'm glad you think so," she whispered as her throat constricted a bit. "That really means a lot to me, you two are the only children I've ever had. Probably will ever have."

"How come?"

Riza laughed dryly, her smile rather self-deprecating as she moved to pick up the hinged shell at their feet. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but marriage and children have never figured into my future plans."

"What about Uncle Roy?"

"He's the reason I planned to never marry, Zeke." She ran a hand along his cheek as he looked up at her inquisitively. "He trusts me with his back, as I trust him with mine. I am bound to my job until either his dream is reached or one of us dies. I could never ask another to share my life with such divided loyalties."

"But if you have to stay with him, why can't you just marry him," he replied logically, leaning against her side. "Beths likes him, I like him, he's already over all the time…"

"Roy and I are friends, not lovers," she said, looking away towards the house so her face was hidden from him. "Besides, I can hardly marry a man when he's never asked me."

"But what if he did?"

"We should get back, its getting dark," she said as though she hadn't heard him, following her own advice immediately and heading towards the house. He sighed, but obeyed, and grabbed her hand to hold as they made their way over the sand. Once inside, he sat beside her on one of the couches, her arm around his shoulders with Beth curled up in her lap. Bedtime for the youngest ones cam quickly, and if Riza was surprised by the way Zeke kissed her cheek goodnight before being led off by Roy, she didn't show it. By the time Roy had returned from having a very interesting conversation with the boy that included a demand as to why he had never proposed, Riza was already upstairs and out of reach.

Winry and Kants chose that moment to saunter in, and with the rampant double entendres and teasing that followed the Brigadier General forgot about it entirely until much later that week.

-0i0-

Early rising was something Riza had done since she was small, and though she moved as quietly as she could she felt a pang of guilt as Maria got up as well.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" her subordinate said as she sat up sheepishly in her bed. "I've been awake for awhile…"

"Oh, no, I was afraid I woke you up."

"Nope."

"Good."

The two of them got dressed in relative silence, heading downstairs and starting a pot of coffee for all to share. Standing with mugs in hand, Riza checked the clock and realized they had at least an hour before the others would rise.

"So," said Maria as she turned towards her superior with a grin. "Wanna spar?"

-0i0-

Wearing at least an undershirt constantly was a habit Roy had fallen into after his many battles with the homunculi. The slash marks Bradley King had given him were not so bad, nor his eye so badly scarred it would never see again, or even the faint round mark on the back of his hand where he had cut the alchemic symbol for fire to destroy Lust, however, the two thirds of his abdomen covered in puckered, discolored burn scars bothered him a great deal. It had been necessary at the time, he would have died otherwise, but he still wished from time to time that there had been a way to remove the marks afterwards.

As such, he had been extremely careful for years about keeping it covered at all times, and the only person who was intimately familiar with the mark other than his doctor was Riza Hawkeye. However, letting his guard down when he was alone was something the Flame Alchemist often did and he hadn't shared a room with anyone in over two years.

Coming out of his morning shower still somewhat sleep-befuddled (he could still feel sand in places he would rather not think about) the Lt. Colonel wore only a towel around his narrow waist. He was headed for his suitcase and a clean pair of clothes when he saw the look of shock on Zeke's pale face as the boy sat with an open book on the bed. Neither one of them said anything as Roy quickly grabbed a shirt and pulled it on, covering the scars almost apologetically.

"Did you…get that in the war?" Zeke asked hesitantly as the man continued to get dressed, his book forgotten as his eyes were continually drawn to the spot even though it was covered now.

"No," Roy replied, running a hand through his hair as he pulled on his eye patch. The actual skin around the eye was normal looking enough, but it felt strange to only open one eye most of the time, and people stared if they thought he was doing it on purpose. His hair covered most of the patch anyways, and its steady presence was a familiar comfort these days. "It was after that."

"Homunculi?"

The Brigadier General's head jerked in surprise, but then realized it would be common knowledge by now. Much of that had been revealed to the public by the parliament, if only to get the public on their side in reducing the military's power.

"Yeah, Homunculi."

"How…?"

The Flame Alchemist met the boy's gaze, and this time found only curiosity without any of the usual pity or sympathy that came with such a sight. Slowly, he explained how he had been wounded by Lust, and how he had cauterized his own skin to stop the bleeding with his alchemy.

"Whoa…" Zeke seemed to consider this for a few minutes, then replied, "I don't think I could do that, not even if I would die if I didn't."

"I didn't do it to save myself," the man clarified as he put on his shoes, the one pair he had not filled with sand. "I did it to save those under me."

"Does Aunt Riza know? I mean, has she seen it."

Roy paused, giving the boy a steady look. "She was there," he said slowly, his eyes seeing something Zeke could not. "Riza was one of those I had to save."

Nothing more was said as they went upstairs, but Zeke was very quiet and thoughtful for sometime afterwards.

-0i0-

The men of Roy Mustang's unit feared their second-in-command with a single-minded intensity that reached all corners of their life. Seeing as she could out shoot, out work, out cook and out glare all of them, it was just assumed she was superior in all areas of life.

So when they saw the women sparring in the sand from the kitchen window, Havoc immediately proposed a bet as to who would hit the sand first. No one actually thought someone would put money down against Hawkeye, but Brosh did and as they piled outside to watch most of the men felt themselves smile with what they thought would be an easy win.

That is, until Maria Ross caught her superior officer in a grappling hold and easily threw the blonde Lt. Colonel over her hip to the ground.

Havoc actually cried out in surprised, and Fuery and Falman's jaws dropped to the ground. By this time the rest of the occupants had come out to see what the fuss was over and as the kids cheered for Maria Roy just watched his male officers with a mix of amusement and exasperation. Ross had been the then Major Armostrong's personal aide for a reason, after all.

"How could you let her win?" cried Breda as the pair approached the pack. "Hawkeye, we had money riding on that…"

"That was very foolish, then, Maria can easily beat me in hand to hand," the Lt Colonel replied with a snort.

Breda laughed. "What?! No way!"

"If you think it is so easy, you try." Riza backed away a few steps, motioning to Ross who nodded that she was willing.

Breda felt his cheeks flame as the men behind him goaded him onwards. "Maybe I will!"

"My money's on Breda!" called Havoc as he pulled out his billfold.

"Me too!" added Falman, putting some cash down.

"I'll try and go easy on you, hun," the large man said as he rolled up his sleeves and took his stance. Ross just smiled.

Apparently there was no need because a few moments later he was looking up at her from the flat of his back. The strength of her grip as she helped him to his feet surprised him even more, and suddenly he had a greater respect for the small, compact woman.

He was teased, of course, for being beat by a woman a third of his size, but it quickly died out when Hawkeye said Maria would be willing to give anyone else a demonstration if it was necessary.

It wasn't.

Roy quickly dispersed the tension by offering to buy everyone breakfast at a local restaurant, and that sent them all scurrying for the showers and fresh clothes to take him up on it if they weren't clean and dressed already.

The restaurant was small and crowded, so it wasn't surprising when they had to split up to various tables. Winry and Kants, still blushing repeatedly when a comment about their extended absence came up, gladly took the kids and sat on the far end of the room away from the rest. Riza, Gracia and Maria took a booth to themselves, and Roy wasted no time in claiming the empty seat beside his aide. The rest of the boys managed to scoot some tables together and sit around in a big circle.

Gracia and Maria exchanged looks when Riza asked Roy why he wasn't sitting with his men, but his reply that he was almost ashamed to be seen with them was completely understandable and impossible to refute. It wasn't long before the said men were tossing bits of paper at each other and Havoc bet Breda he couldn't hold an ice cube with salt on his tongue for a whole minute.

They'll never grow up, will they?" asked Gracia in a very mother-like tone.

Riza just shook her head slowly. "Never."

-0i0-

Beach volleyball was something the group had always played every time they came to the beach. Havoc was the originator of the tradition, stemming back to when he first bet the then Colonel Mustang that he could out-spike him in a one on one game. The others, saving Hawkeye who was appointed scorekeeper at the time, had been quick to join in, and the only thing that changed since then was Havoc being named score keeper and Riza joining in to fill his place. Everyone participated, even during the two years the Flame Alchemist had been absent, and the result was a friendly competition everyone was looking forward to with 'fresh meat' to go around.

This, of course, meant Roy Mustang had to brag a bit about his abilities over the net with his second in command in hearing range.

"We play every summer," he was telling Kants on the way back to the beach house. "Mostly the guys, though Hawkeye supposedly has a wicked serve. Anyway, the teams are never the same year to year, but it doesn't matter much because the team I'm on always wins…"

"That hasn't been the case the last to years, sir," pointed out Fuery from behind them. "The Lt. Colonel's team has been the one to win the last two years."

"Well, yes, but I wasn't there," Roy replied lightly with the air of one brushing an inconsequential topic aside. "That's why."

"Someone sounds pretty confident to me," said Maria from the sharp-shooter's side. "You willing to stake something on it?"

"Of course," he laughed confidently. "But the Lt. Colonel would never…"

"My first team pick is Maria Ross," Hawkeye cut in suddenly, unable to ignore the challenge to her ability to play for once. And suddenly Roy wondered if it was such a good idea.

"Didn't you tell me challenging a woman's pride was stupid once?" asked Zeke as the men set up the net and Riza helped pump up the ball they played with.

"Yeah," he replied with a weak smile, removing his shoes and socks like everyone else and getting ready to get messy in the sand. "I did."

It ended up being Riza, Maria, Kants, and Fuery against Roy, Breda, Falman and Marshall. Havoc was the agreed scorekeeper, and Winry helped as the line judge on the other side. With Gracia, Elysia, Zeke and Beth acting as fans in the stands they were set.

Roy graciously gave the other team the first serve, but he noticed his men cringe when Riza picked up the volleyball to begin. When the ball came flying at his head at the speed of sound a few seconds later, he knew why. When he was able to sit up and the world stopped spinning it was war.

"Maybe we should call it off," Riza offered as Falman and Bread pulled the Flame Alchemist to his feet.

"No, I feel fine," he replied, giving them a cheery smile he didn't feel, though he could feel something wet and warm dripping down his forehead.

"You're bleeding…"

"Ha! Just a scratch." He turned to Havoc. "Who's serve is it?"

"Still hers," Havoc replied, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Alright, let's go!"

Riza served again, though this time she seemed to take pity on them and only sent the ball flying at half the speed of sound. Falman managed to get under it and pop it back towards the other side, but that advantage didn't last for long. Eventually they managed to get a serve themselves, but that was quickly overturned.

Roy began to feel increasingly stupid as the game progressed; Riza had chosen her team specifically to defeat the strengths of the rest of the unit. Falman was good at serving the ball into odd spots, but Fuery was quick on his feet and could get under almost anything. Breda was good at blocking shots, but Maria was too quick for him and at least 2 out of every 3 tries made it past it. At least half of those managed to stay in bounds and score a point. Marshall was as coordinated as a dead cow, so it was no problem keeping him out of the way. Roy, oh so proud of his spikes, suddenly found himself hardly about to get a shot through with Kants and sometimes Riza watching for him to strike and blocking it almost every time. The same eyes that helped them pin targets with a sniper rifle were more than capable of following his movements with the ball.

Regardless, for none of the players were perfect, it was a long and difficult game. When an hour had passed, Riza's team was only up by five and Havoc simply called game to make sure no one was seriously injured. Roy protested, but he had just taken his third line drive to the face (he blamed the eye patch) and was bleeding again. Riza pulled out the first aid kit and told him to sit still when he tried to tend to it himself.

Most of the men had immediately raced to the waves when the winners were named to cool off in the refreshing waves, Gracia herding the children after them as the girls wanted to try their hand at another castle. Kants was led off for his own reward with Winry for being on the winning team, and no one saw them for quite awhile afterwards. Ross stuck around with Havoc, one of them because wheelchairs are hard to move in the sand and the other because she wanted to eaves drop a bit.

"You know," said Gracia as she sat beside Havoc in the sand on a towel a few feet from the court. "It occurs to me that we haven't actually agreed on terms."

"It was foolish in the first place," Riza cut in brusquely. "I shouldn't have said anything, it was childish…"

"But entirely worth it if I got to watch you bounce around the court in a t-shirt for an hour," Roy murmured to himself, the sharpshooter barely catching enough to get the gist of it. Her glare spoke volumes, though, as did the redness on her cheeks as he quickly added, "I guess that's it, I owe you a night on the town, Hawkeye."

"Don't you mean you owe my team a night on the town?" she replied flatly. "There were no terms set…"

"But the challenge was really only for you," Maria pointed out with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "He didn't know who you would pick before hand; in fact he kind of implied that regardless of the team he would win."

"She's right," Havoc added when Ross looked to him, getting a warm glow in his chest from her glance of approval. "You only agreed to play after he left, that's why he had no idea what he was getting into."

"So, I owe you a night on the town," Roy concluded happily, looking a little silly with the bandage she put on his forehead. "When would you like to go?"

"Roy," she said in her warning tone. "You don't owe me anything."

"You won fair and square," he replied cheerfully, Maria quietly helping Havoc back in his chair and wheeling him towards the house. "To the victor go the spoils."

"But it is completely unnecessary."

"Riza, I want to take you out. Please."

She hesitated, and he gently laid a hand over hers, noticing the way her features softened at the light contact. "One night," she agreed with a sigh. "That's it."

"Thank you."

Nobody objected later that evening, lying tiredly around the outside porch after a day of playing in the waves and none of them had cleaned up yet, to getting take-out. The food was delivered right to their door, along with two bottles to celebrate the game with. Riza had agreed after the boys promised not to disgrace themselves in front of the children.

In twos and threes they disappeared for a short time after eating, showering and putting on fresh clothes. The men started a rousing game of cards, which Maria joined proving she could out bluff any of them. The kids dropped off to sleep on the couch one by one as Gracia read to them from a book, so Riza left the somewhat noisy house to take a walk on the beach.

She stopped once she reached the edge of the tide line, letting the water wash gently over her feet as her toes sunk deep into the wet sand. Hearing someone approach from behind, she said, "I've had quite enough of you today, sir, pelase leave me alone."

"What?"

"Winry?" Turning around quickly, she gave the blonde mechanic an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else." Spying the two drinks she carried, Riza added, "Kants is probably waiting for you, so I'll head back inside."

"Actually, I was hoping we could talk," admitted Winry as she took a careful sip from her glass and handed the other to the gunwoman. "I had some questions I wanted to ask you."

"Orange juice and rum," Riza murmured in surprise as she took a sip, suddenly somewhat suspicious. "Questions about what?"

"Sex." The Lt. Colonel had a hard time swallowing the small gulp she had just taken, but somehow forced it down her constricted throat as the younger woman rushed on. "I get how it supposed to work; Granny told me that, I just wondered how you knew it was right…" She paused, seeing her companion go very still. "Riza? I can ask someone else if you want, I just thought you might be best, seeing as asking Gracia would remind her of Hues and I really don't know Maria that well yet…"

"You just surprised me," Riza replied quickly, giving her a reassuring pat on the arm. "I'll try to answer your questions; I just don't know how much of an expert I could possibly be."

"How did you know you were with the right guy for your first time?"

"I didn't, really. No matter what, your first time will be awkward, clumsy, and a little painful. If the guy is patient enough, it won't be entirely unpleasant. If he actually cares about you, it'll probably go pretty well."

"Oh. Who was your first?"

"My father's last alchemic student, who later grew up to be my superior officer," Riza chuckled dryly. "Roy Mustang."

Winry pounced like a starved lion on fresh meat. "Then you did love him."

"Love? We were not a day over 16 when we started, we didn't know what love was," she replied flatly. "We were two hormones –crazy pubescent teens that found each other attractive and had no other outlet for our want. My father kept us separate as much as possible, I think he suspected what might happen, but he always fell asleep around mid-afternoon for at least an hour or so."

"Oh." Winry paused there, enjoying the cool salt water as it washed over her bare feet. "Is he the only…?"

"I may not be easy, but I'm not exactly a saint," she muttered with a roll of her eyes, taking another swallow of her drink. "No, there have been a few others since then."

"It's just hard to think of you with anyone else."

"I wasn't really with most of them…" At Winry's confused look, she singed and took another drink from her now half-empty glass. "One was a guy I knew at the Military Academy, Jack Collins. We were friends that just happened to sleep together a few times. That only happened when we both had far too much to drink, and thankfully we were both mature enough to realize it wasn't anything special. Then I was sent to the front lines of Ishabal, and he stayed for more training. I haven't seen him since."

"You probably didn't have time when you were on the front lines," Winry murmured to herself.

"Actually, that's not true." Riza sat down in the sand, setting the now empty glass beside her. "Sometimes, when you're surrounded by death and destruction, the only way to be sure you're still alive…it wasn't love, or lust, it was a need to know that you were something more than a killing machine. Besides, women are a precious commodity on the battle field, being 'claimed' had its advantages."

"Who?"

"Jean." Glancing at her confused companion, she amended, "Havoc."

Winry's face was in pure shock, and Riza couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "How?!"

"We knew each other from Academy, he was a year my senior," Riza explained slowly as she leaned back on her hands. "And then I was pulled a year early and was placed in his squad. We shared a tent with two others, and even before the first time the three of them were fiercely protective of me. Three times we came back from a fight, and we were the only two from our tent to make it back that night. One time, we lost more than two thirds of the unit trying to flush out a holed up band of Ishabalan war priests. It was a night like that that you hold onto the person closest to you and prayed for the dawn."

"That must have been strange, at first," Winry offered, flushing a bit at the thought of Riza being with a man she knew other than Roy Mustang. "I mean, the Havoc I know hates to let go of a pretty girl."

"It was strange the morning after the first time," her companion agreed with a low cough. "But the truth was obvious to both of us. We are siblings of a kind, that is all, and while I don't regret what we shared it shall never go beyond that tent in the middle of the war."

"He doesn't…?"

"No. I think he might have hoped for more once we were assigned together under the famous Flame Alchemist, but I quickly stamped that out upon arrival."

"Oh." Winry paused, a little bit still in shock at what she had learned before something occurred to her. "There was one more, wasn't there?"

"James Taylor, a café owner in Central," Riza confirmed with a short nod, "We met after the war, when I was on a three month leave with no family to visit and few friends to speak of, and we quickly became close. He was kind, sweet, gentle, everything you could hope for in a husband, really. He had a stable, comfortable life, and offered me a place with him where I would never have to touch a gun again. It was tempting, he was considerate man both in and out of the bedroom and working in the café would have been no hardship after a few years of being in the army…I almost said yes."

"Why didn't you?"

"I didn't love him. A month later, stationed under Roy Mustang at Easter Headquarters I knew I would have regretted it for the rest of my life."

"Did you love Roy?"

"I have always loved Roy." Pausing, Riza shook her head as if to clear it, then turned towards Winry with a small smile. "I think Kants is a good man, and certainly not a bad choice to be your first. If he hurts you, I'll gladly shoot him later on, but I don't think that will be necessary."

The blonde mechanic seemed to sweat a bit at that, but let it go with an appreciative nod. "Thanks. Any tips on how to make him happy? I'm kinda new at this…"

Riza's smile suddenly took a distinctively cat-like smirk. "Just one…"

-0i0-

Whew, and that's chapter 10. Lots of heavy stuff in there, especially for Zeke, and all sorts of confessions too! Hope you guys enjoyed it, and I can't wait to hear from you all again. Here are the review replies, as usual!

OTP : I updated the day after you reviewed. That's a pretty quick update. Hope you enjoyed it!

WingedChunsa : Yep, Riza and any relative other than her grandfather seems to be a rare combination. Your alcohol and sexual references is a valid point that I will take into consideration. Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for the review!

Jennlyn78 : Thanks for the huge compliment of comparing me to "Hitchhikers", that I may someday be half as creative as that man is. Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Crystal Mage : Yeah, I like the dance too. Don't worry, they'll be doing a lot more of it before long. : ) It's a chapter I'm definitely proud of. Thanks for your many praise, hope you enjoyed it!

MoonStarDuchess : Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

FFVII : Yeah, if you don't force Riza into a dress once it's just not true Royai fluff, ehe? If you draw that scene I wanna see it, just for the record. I hope this chapter provides you with enough fluff to last awhile, and while that last statement sounds like a challenge (I could _so_ make you gag with fluff) I will not take it up. This is not the story to try and do it with.

Momiji-K : No, of course not, Riza's far too proper for that. Besides, I think we've got to get a least a few heart felt hugs together before they hop into bed for the night. At least a few. Thank you for mentioning how many weapons Riza carried! I put several just because it made me smile, and it's good to know someone else got a kick out of it too. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint, thanks for the review!

Jacksparrow589 : I hope it's not too long before you got to read this update. Of course Riza's dress is pretty, only the best for our gunslinger girl, and there's plenty more fluff coming up so hopefully you won't be starved any longer. Glad to know we're still in character, and thanks for your many kind words of praise. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

GreyBlueAngel : Hope the fluff is still good. Thanks for the review!

Hawkeye Chuui : I think there's more fluff this chapter. I think. I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Yun Min : Aw, I do my best! Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Humor Queen Merc : Here's the next chapter! Thanks for the review!

FinlandGirl : Well, sorry, there is some action coming up (quite a bit, actually) but it's only in, like, one chapter, and that's it. This isn't an action story, sorry. Hope you enjoyed it regardless, thanks for the review!

SakuraTearDrop : Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review, hope the update was good!

Winglessfairy25 : Oh yes, the not smack you in the face Royai. I try not to do that, it gets old after awhile. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

-Kai Isolated- : One typo, WHOO! For, what, two chapters in a row? I think that really is a record for me! Please don't go too crazy, they don't let you have computers in the padded cells. Hope you're still enjoying it, and thanks for the review!

Causmicfire : Oh yeah, little kids, they sleep on you and you just want to sleep too. Paint in the hair sucks, I just thought it would be fun to throw in there. Roy's ego loves to be stroked, if Havoc had a dollar for every time he got to bring that up he would be rich and Roy would be broke, and if Roy wasn't attracted to women who could threaten him he would never be interested in Riza for long. It's just part of her charm. And of course Riza would look nice for Grumman, he is the Fuhrer. Thanks for the great review, hope you liked the update!

Kurissyma san Tybalt : Yay for not missing the bus! Though I feel bad for the violin…they are not meant to be out in the cold. I hope your summer vacation is relaxing, and that you have plenty of time to read now that you're not running for the bus. Painting is always messy, no matter how people try to work it. Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Bizzy : Yeah, the way the kids and the adults fit together is something I'm particularly proud of. It just seems to flow really well. And it does lend itself well for lots of royai. Yay for you, seeing all the subtle undercurrents with the dancing. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Dailenna : I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I read your review, I promise, but when I went back through my email to reply I think I skipped over a page and it just happened to be yours. I really try to catch everyone, but it is hard with so many reviews (a problem I am very thankful to have) and I will do my best be sure you or anyone else is not skipped in the future. Beth is kinda like a baby koala at times, very cute! I think I did say Roy alchemized some vents, because paint fumes are quite dangerous, but I don't think they would use lead based paints on the walls. That's just my thoughts, though. And yes, the story is definitely going on for at least a bit longer. Hope you enjoyed it, sorry again that I missed you last time, thanks for the review!

Aindel S. Druida : Glad to know we're still up to par. Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Bar-Ohki : Yeah, well, headmistresses are not known for being nice. Usually, they stick by the rules. A lot. That's not so bad all the time, though. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Dennisud : Yeah, I know you're still not a fan of Kants, but I think you'll see where his usefulness comes in in the next chapter or so. Gotta love foils! And I'm sorry, but I believe Brosh and Ross together would be a horrible, horrible idea. He has no backbone, and she needs someone who can at least stand up to her from time to time. Brosh might be a good guy, but he is not the guy for her. Ever. Other than that, glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Blknblupanther1 : Um, the actual length of this story is not yet determined, though I would be quite shocked if we passed twenty chapter or so. Don't worry, randomness is just a part of life, feel free to take part it in whenever necessary. And, actually, in some ways, the more you write the more you learn not to suck, and the more you learn not to suck the more people review and the more you like to write because you don't suck! You just forgot the part about not sucking, but you were pretty close. Hoe you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

SxL : There were some complications, I explained them last chapter. No more long waits, though. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!


	11. Chapter 11

Wow, the weeks are flying by. So…this chapter hasn't gotten quite as thorough a read through as usual. Probably something to do with all the airsoft I've been playing these last few days… ;; Um, so, yeah, sorry if you find more mistakes than usual! Thanks for the many wonderful reviews, replies are at the end, enjoy!

-0i0-

The day started drearily with rain pattering on the roof, and as they slowly met around the kitchen table for a breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast they discussed what there was to do. Zeke mentioned wanting to go to an Alchemist Museum, while Gracia showed an interest in checking out the local shops and the majority of the men the local pool hall and pub. Winry and Kants said they were going to spend the day sight seeing, and managed to leave before anyone else finished eating.

Riza, wanting to spend the day with both of her charges, was torn between shopping and the museum until Beth whispered she wanted to go with Zeke instead. Together with Roy, who insisted on tagging along as he proclaimed a lack of interest in both pool and the alcoholic beverages, they took the bus to the stop closest to the museum and walked through the dreary drizzle for the rest of the block.

Roy got the tickets, at the discounted price because of his State Alchemist watch, while Riza took care of their coats and helped Beth retie one of her shoes. Masterfully ignoring all attempts upon his subordinate's part to pay him back, the Flame Alchemist led the way into the exhibits area as soon as they were ready to go.

Zeke was enthralled. They had parts of arrays and diagrams from several famous Alchemists of the past, and had miniature replicas of momentous events with Alchemists. There was a hall dedicated to full sized wax replicas of famous deceased alchemists, and an entire exhibit dedicated to the process one went through to become a state alchemist. There was even a wall that covered the most simple of diagrams (those that used a triangle as their base) to the most complex (which included seven and even eight sided figures, the most difficult to balance).

They had a mediocre Alchemist there drawing arrays and doing basic alchemist tricks for tips. Roy gave him a tip to make one of his transmutations work better. The man seemed surprised and a little scornful of the idea until Roy pulled out his watch and tried out the reworked array for himself. The result was twice that which the original had been able to produce, and they left the performer looking a little embarrassed and well chastised.

Beth rode on Roy's shoulders as they walked, her short legs not quite able to keep up, and Zeke never let go of Riza's hand no matter where they went. Getting a bite together in the food court a few hours later, Roy some managed to pay again, forgetting only the napkins as Riza secured a table.

"I'll get them," she said when she realized the lack, Beth and Zeke already digging into their burgers. Heading to the counter, she traded polite smiles with the lady there and gathered the necessary paper products.

"You're a lucky woman."

"Excuse me?"

"Having a husband who's so attentive, you're very lucky."

Riza wasn't able to correct the woman as another customer came up, but as she went back to the table it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would.

The rest of the museum was just as interesting as the first half had been, and as they returned to the beach house much later that afternoon they found Mari and Gracia already there with Elysia absorbed in a new puzzle. It didn't take long for Zeke and Beth to be on their knees helping her, though they rattled on about the many things they had seen between finding the pieces. The men had already sent word saying they wouldn't be in until late, and with the other ladies already preparing leftovers for themselves and the kids Roy made one of the bravest moves of his life.

"Riza," he said as he sidled up beside her, the woman deeply engrossed in the task of trying to fix the zipper on Beth's jacket. It had gotten stuck on itself again, an irritating occurrence. "How would you feel about going out tonight?"

"For what?"

"The dinner I owe you," he replied, flashing a smile which the other two women immediately understood as her head flew up from her work. "No one would miss us tonight, the group is mostly out anyways, and I know of a good sea food place about 15 minutes from here." He felt like a sales person the way he sped up as he talked, but he felt the need as she began to open her mouth to protest to make sure he got it all in before she could interrupt.

"Sounds like a plan," broke in Gracia, hooking an arm through Riza's and dragging her away up the stairs, once more effectively stopping any protestations the woman might have had. Marai stayed with the kids but watched the pair in a way that said she was not below helping out if Riza proved to be troublesome. "Thirty minutes?"

"Thirty minutes," he agreed.

Twenty five minutes later, Roy straightened his collar before nervously smoothing the shirt, pulling his shoes on and checking his overall appearance in the mirror before turning towards the stairs firmly. He had five minutes to spare, but if Riza had managed to take over her own preparations she was probably waiting for him. Zeke popping his head in to see if he was ready confirmed that, and as he bounded confidently up the stairs he wondered if he was in for a memorable or miserable night.

He hoped it was the former.

Riza was waiting by the door, watching the children work on the puzzle on the floor as she shifted on her low healed sandals and held her small purse with tense hands. The good byes were quick as a cab was already waiting for them outside, and the Alchemist wasn't given time to study his companion's appearance until they were seated in the back of the small car and were on their way.

The short dress showed her legs off nicely, as did the low heels. A light blue, it complimented her fair skin, and he was glad he had opted for his white shirt in favor of the dark red that wouldn't have matched nearly as well. Silently she stared out the window, her face an emotionless mask, though Roy could tell she was internally debating something by the way her brows twitched from time to time. Stretching his arm across the back of the seat, he decided to watch with her in the quiet when his fingertips brushing against her shoulder failed to bring forth a noticeable reaction, positive or negative.

Thankfully, the drive was relatively short and after paying the cabby outside the dockside restaurant he offered his arm to Riza and escorted her inside. The hand resting in the crook of his arm was light, but she didn't try pull away when Roy paused to ask for a table for two or even glare when he moved to pull out her chair for her. The white tablecloths, lit candles and view of the beach made for a very upscale, romantic setting, but again Riza didn't comment. Raised a brow when she saw the prices on the menu, and another when Roy ordered a bottle of Chardonnay for them to share, but never said a single word.

"So," he said when they were seated across from each other, her hands neatly folded in her lap and her wine glass thus far untouched. "What do you think you want?"

"The crab sounds excellent," she admitted, willing to venture out onto a safe topic. "Though the price is…more than expected…"

"No thinking about the cost, this is my treat," he replied firmly, giving her a warm smile. "Do you think the kids enjoyed the museum?"

"Zeke loved every minute of it, and I think Beth just enjoyed being with us. It was certainly an educational experience."

"Good." Turning to other topics, like Beth's quickly approaching first year of school or the projects that had been left undone at work, each was skimmed over until their food arrived and talk was replaced by the consuming of the delicious meal placed before them. Roy had contented himself with a fine tuna fillet, and Riza her fresh crab. A pianist and small band began to perform just as they began to slow down, a few couples getting up and dancing in the small space provided.

Riza watched them with a mixture of envy and resignation. Dancing was something she had actually enjoyed a great deal as a younger woman. It was one of the few things that had helped her make friends during her days at the academy. She was a good follow, quick to learn new steps, and would dance with anyone who wasn't trying to cop a feel or look down her shirt at least once. She protected the other girls from the sleezeballs, could be trusted not to steal your date, and would never make fun of a fellow no matter how poorly he had led.

Talking openly wasn't something the gunwoman had been comfortable with, but on the dance floor one needed no words. There was only you, your partner, and the music.

Roy was an excellent dancer. She knew that from past experience, he had actually been the one to teach her the waltz. In her father's study late at night, using the old phonograph as they turned in a slow circle with his hands on her hip and her head resting on his shoulder. His natural charm and grace were almost impossible to ignore when one was swaying gently in his arms. So as much as she wanted to dance, Roy was her only conceivable partner and that was a trap she would not enter without serious persuasion. Especially since she was nursing her second glass of wine.

Unfortunately, that second glass of wine also made her very easy to persuade.

"Isn't this the same song we would listen to on your father's phonograph?" Roy asked as they switched to a slow waltz. "Amazing to think it was at least ten years ago and it feels like only yesterday I was being dropped off in front of your house to meet my new Alchemy teacher."

"It was a long time ago," she agreed quietly.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Not particularly," she lied poorly, focusing on her hands once more.

"Ah…" He seemed to consider her for a moment, and then smiled winningly. "Then perhaps you could help me with something your charge mentioned the other day. Zeke seemed to think there was something I was long overdue in doing."

Her brows shot up and she met his gaze for more than a second for the first time that night as her mind scrambled for possibilities. "And that was…?"

"Proposing."

Riza paused, caught between a rock and a hard place. "I've changed my mind," she said as she removed the napkin from her lap. "I should very much like to dance."

Wisely, Roy just smiled and pulled her to her feet, escorting her to the dance floor and gently bringing her into his embrace. He concentrated on the steps themselves, rather than on the beautiful woman in his arms, and as they moved and twirled he slowly felt her relax.

Drawing a fraction closer as a particularly slow song came on; he just smiled warmly when she glanced up at him and positively glowed when she didn't try to regain the lost space.

"Have I told you how wonderful you look tonight?" he murmured as they continued to glide along.

"No you hadn't," she replied. "I seem to recall another conversation that began in a similar manner, dancing and all."

"Maybe it began the same way, but it won't end as it did before."

"How can you be so sure?"

"The day I left for the North was the second-biggest mistake of my life," he replied, nothing the way she stiffened immediately but drawing her closer still. "The biggest was not taking the next train available back to Central. I was an ass and an idiot and I don't deserve a second chance with you. But I still want it, gods above I still want you. Is there even the slightest chance that maybe someday…?"

She didn't replied for a long time, her eyes hidden by her long bangs and her body still tense in his gentle hold. Slowly, though, she leaned against his shoulder until her head was almost buried in his neck.

"Maybe," she whispered, her breath pleasantly tickling his skin. "Someday."

"Thank you."

-0i0-

It was very late when Roy finally opening the front door of the beach house for his companion, the entire place still and dark with its sleeping occupants. He was about to bid her goodnight and head downstairs when a sleepy voice called from the couch.

"Zeke?" he replied in surprise. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep?" asked Riza, moving with the sureness of habit as she sat next to the boy on the couch. He nodded, and she ran a hand through his pitch-colored hair as his head rested on her shoulder. "Relax. Uncle Roy can carry you downstairs in a bit."

"Mhmm."

Roy watched a rare moment of tenderness between the two as Zeke drifted off to sleep on her shoulder, the woman's hand still running through his hair and humming quietly. When his eyes finally shut for a long while, she let Roy lift him with in strong arms.

Kissing the boy on the forehead, the alchemist was a surprised when she kissed his forehead as well. Bidding him a sleepy goodnight, she disappeared upstairs.

Knowing full well he was grinning like a fool and not caring a wit if anyone saw, he carried the boy downstairs to his bed before going to sleep himself.

-0i0-

Roy recognized the semi-glazed look in Kant's eyes the day after he and Winry went 'sight seeing', the two men sitting outside on the porch while she helped the other women with breakfast.

"I take it you didn't get much sleep last night?" the Brigadier General chuckled lightly. "The sights you saw probably weren't historical landmarks either."

"Yeah…" admitted the young man with a yawn, blushing as he glanced back towards where his girl was. "It was incredible."

"The first time always is," Roy replied with a knowing grin. "You probably collapsed after that first time, though. Its more work than you realize."

"Yeah, but then she did this thing with her hands…I was up and ready again a lot faster than I thought possible."

Roy's brows shot up as he swallowed a hum of recognition. "Did she say what gave her the idea?"

"She said a friend suggested it, but she wouldn't tell me who."

"Wicked, wicked woman…"

"There's some pancakes ready if you boys are hungry," Gracia said as she stuck her head outside.

"What were you saying?" asked Kants as they got up quickly to fill their empty stomachs.

"Nothing," he replied with a tight smile, glancing at one of the windows where Riza was washing out some dishes at the sink. "Nothing at all."

-0i0-

Zeke scuttled along in the sand, poking at the crab he was chasing with a long stick carefully. The crustacean was no more than a few inches big, but the pinchers still looked painful.

"Whatcha doing?" asked Elysia as she appeared beside him. "Oh! Is that a crab?"

"Yep," he replied, crouching down as the creature turned towards him for a moment, waving its claws wildly.

"Look at his pinchers, I bet they hurt," she replied, crouching beside him.

"He's not so big," the boy boasted proudly. "I bet I could catch him."

Elysia gasped in fear, his back becoming straighter as her eyes widened. "But he'll pinch you!"

"Aw, I'm faster than any ol' crab," he replied, tilting his head up a bit.

"Wow, that's brave."

Puffing his chest out under her appreciative gaze, he put the stick down. "I'll give him to you afterwards. You got a bucket or something?"

She nodded, producing the requested item.

"Ok." Steeling himself as she watching with big eyes, heart pounding against his ribs, he pounced on them orange crustacean with all the speed he could muster.

It wasn't nearly enough. Nimbly, the crab danced out of his reach, the struck with the speed of a snake, catching Zeke on the fleshy part of his hand with its pincher. The resulting yelp of pain was enough to call the adults from the umbrella a little ways away and by the time they arrived Zeke was sticking his tongue out at the crab he'd managed to shake off into the bucket and nursing the hand that Elysia fluttered over nervously.

"You know better than that," Riza informed him brusquely as she inspected the mark. "You're lucky it didn't break the skin."

"It doesn't hurt much, it was just a silly old crab," he groused, puffing up a bit when Elysia beamed at him.

"There are better ways to impress a girl," she informed him under her breath when she noticed the look Elysia was giving the boy. Probing the mark, he yelped again and flushed bright red. "No more crabs, ok? And let that one go, he didn't do anything to you that you didn't deserve."

"Ok…"

"He's starting young," chuckled Roy when the pair ran off towards the waves, the crab set free and scuttling off in the opposite direction.

"Too young if you ask me…"

"Aunt Riza?"

Both adults looked down to see Beth standing between them, staring out at the waves where Zeke and Elysia were playing with the men.

"Is something wrong?" she asked as she knelt beside the small girl.

"Do you want to try the water?" offered Roy when she didn't answer but continued to stare at the waves. "It's perfectly safe, I promise."

The young girl gave him a skeptical look, but still didn't reply.

"How about this," offered Riza, scooping her charge into her arms. "We'll go out there and I'll hold you. The minute you want out we'll leave, and I won't go any deeper than you ask, ok?"

"Can Uncle Roy come?" she asked, giving the alchemist a hopeful look.

"Sure," he replied, tousling her golden hair affectionately.

So, the three of them headed out towards the waves, Beth clinging to Riza's neck and Roy staying as close by as he could. The water was warm and the waves fairly small as Riza went up to her ankles and paused.

"Are you alright?" she asked Beth, who nodded though her eyes remained on the water below. So she took a few more steps, the water now up to her calves. Beth nodded again, this time shaking a little when it came up to her guardian's knees.

"Relax," Roy told her, putting a comforting hand on her back. "You're safe, see? Nothing can hurt you when we're here."

"Do you want to stop?" Riza added softly.

Shaking her head, Beth seemed to steel herself and said she wanted to go farther out. Riza obeyed, the steps repeating themselves twice more before the tops of the waves touched the young girl's toes and she squealed in surprise.

"It's just water," Roy told her. "It can't hurt you any more than rain can."

"But you don't like rain," she pointed out, giving him a hard look.

"Well, yeah, but it doesn't hurt me, it just annoys me," he pointed out quickly. "And that's usually only when I'm on duty. The other day it didn't really bother me at all."

"It's warm," she said in surprise when they went a little deeper, the water now lapping at her knees. Her grip on Riza's neck slowly loosened, remaining quiet for a little while as she watched the waves brush her legs. Suddenly she looked up with a face of grim determination and declared, "I want to go back."

"Are you sure?" Riza replied, brows raised slightly.

Roy blinked in surprise. "But I thought-"

"Now, please."

Riza relented, turning around to wade back into the shore. As soon as her feet were clear of the water Beth was squirming to be put down, but instead of running back to the umbrellas she paused and stared at the water, lapping only inches from her feet. Screwing her face up, she took one step into the next wave…and popped her eyes open in surprise. "That felt…weird." Looking down at her toes, she moved them in the squishy sand before smiling brightly. "I think I like it. Aunt Riza, can we go deeper?"

Accepting the small, outstretched hand, the woman wordlessly followed, stopping when the water had reached her charge's waist. Years of taking the Flame Alchemist's strange habits into stride had not fully prepared Riza for the screwballs children naturally threw at their caretakers. However, as she watched Beth's face light with joy at the feel of the waves swelling around her, she thought she wasn't cooping too shabbily for a newly-made guardian of two. Not too shabbily at all.

-0i0-

It was their final night at the beach house. All bore various degrees of sun-burnt skin as they sat watching the beautiful sunset. The evening was cool and damp, promising a change in weather, and Roy was about to suggest they head back as the last rays of light disappeared when the men brought forth the paper bag they had been holding all night.

"We've got a surprise," Breda announced as he turned the bag over onto an unoccupied towel. "Fireworks!"

Sure enough, among the pile were bottle rockets, noisemakers, roman candles, sparklers, sky blooms and other assorted toys that went 'bang!'

The men promptly got busy sorting it out and setting up the first to go off. "Sir, would you do the honors?" asked Feury as he produced a lighter, the Flame Alchemist accepting it gravely as he got down to word. The first rockets sent on their way, he then lit sparklers for anyone who wanted them. Beth was scared to hold one alone, so with Riza's help she drew glowing twirls in the air and watched them fade from sight. Zeke and Elysia tried to see who could make the biggest twirl of all, both standing a little ways away and swinging their arms as hard as they could.

Breda busied himself with the task of taking apart some of the noise makers and attaching them to other fireworks to make an even bigger 'boom!' But after one prematurely went off, diverting the path of a soaring bottle rocket and sent it exploding less than two feet from where they sat he was forbidden to keep doing so.

Everyone else, though, had and excellent time and at least an hour later when the last bottle rocket went off, they gathered up the trash and headed it with an air of contentment of a vacation well spent.

-0i0-

The train ride home was long, and the time spent doing laundry when they got back even longer, but there was the second week left of the military personel's leave. Pinako arrived for her visit, declaring Kants 'suitable, if a bit thin' in front of everyone else. She then promptly went with the others to a bar and drunk every one of them under the table. Maria, thankfully, had gone along to keep Winry company and managed to get the men all home without incident.

Riza, Beth and Zeke made use of their time making up for the week they'd left Black Hayate with Sheska and partaking of lazy pursuits like reading or playing games together. Roy came over every day, for at least a little while, and it seemed their time was not complete without him. Sprawled in the grass together, Riza would read aloud from a book of fairy tales she had loved as a child while her audience listened with baited breath. Or sitting around the kitchen table Beth would give Zeke a triumphant smile and declare 'Go Fish!' while the adults smothered amused looks.

The week could not last forever, though, and neither could the rest of the children's summer break. Zeke was given new uniforms, his pants now two inches too short, and Beth fitted for the skirts and nice shirts that were the uniform of her new school. It being the same one Elysia attended, the pair was looking forward to sharing lunch and recess together. Zeke felt better knowing his little sister would have someone to play with, and Riza satisfied because both girls could be picked up at the same time by Gracia every day without inconveniencing the older woman.

Zeke, of course, continued in the after school alchemy program and was picked up by someone every day afterwards. His school subjects changed little, advancing to the next level in all areas. The only real surprise was the inclusion of hand to hand combat in his gym class. As a student on the Alchemist track, he could opt out after the basics were covered in the first month. However, after learning about how the Elric brother's believed the condition of the body and mind were linked, he decided to stick it out instead. Riza, for one, was glad because it kept him from growing into a lazy bum and Roy agree being in shape couldn't hurt and would probably help in the long run. Especially since the hand to hand was a lot more likely to keep the boy safe than his alchemy if his life were actually in danger.

A week after school started, though, while Roy was shuffling some papers around and trying to look busy with Riza out to lunch, the first major bump in the road of their lives occurred.

-0i0-

Havoc rolled into the room, glancing out in the hall before closing the door behind himself quickly and calling the other's attention.

"Guys, we've got five days, how's the plans coming along?" he asked as the others looked up from their work, all of them seemingly on the same page as him except Roy.

"Food and cake is a go," said Maria from her desk, flashing a quick grin. "Gracia agreed to help, and Winry is arriving in time to give her a hand. They just need help getting it here."

"Got it covered," stuck in Kants quickly. "I have the morning off for an appointment, so I'll just swing by and pick up them and everything they need brought over."

"The decorations?" Havoc asked, looking at Breda.

"Streamers, balloons, and party hats are a go," the big man replied with thumbs up. "All of them are hidden down the hall in the record's office."

"Nice. The kids?"

"Gracia called the schools and arranged to have me pick them up in time to bring them here," Falman said quickly. "Since I'm also out for that morning, it shouldn't be noticed."

"Presents?"

"The funds have been collected and a group gift decided upon," announced Brosh. "It has been purchased and is also hiding down the hall."

"Our concocted emergency?"

"Ready, with the proper bribes insuring no one will give it away," Fuery spoke up carefully. "In fact we've even gotten sanction from the Fuhrer on this, and we've arranged to have drinks brought in from the cafeteria."

"Who's the informer?"

"Me," said Marshall as he raised his hand slowly. "Though if she shoots me I'm holding all of you responsible."

"She'll glare and glower and maybe wave the gun at you if she's short on sleep, but a single bullet will never actually touch your skin," Havoc promised, holding a hand up solemnly. "This I do solemnly swear." Behind his back, though, he crossed his fingers and Breda barely swallowed the snicker that rose in his throat.

"I hope so…"

"Well, it seems everything is in order. What will you be contributing, sir?"

The Brigadier General wasn't stupid. The wheels in his head had started turning the moment Havoc had shut the door and started to talk. It had only taken a few seconds for him to zero in on the topic of discussion. It was August, there was only one person who had a significant date during this month, and that was his Lt. Colonel. Thankfully, he had had several minutes between the time he'd arrived at that conclusion and Havoc addressing him. Mainly because of the major heart attack he was internally experiencing at the time.

Riza's birthday was five days away, and he had no idea what he was getting her.

"I can help if there is something you lack," he heard himself say, though his mind was elsewhere, running through the possible gift ideas he might have. Flowers? No. Chocolate? No. Stuffed animal? No. Perfume? No. Lingerie? Hell no. "Though I wasn't aware of the preparations until now…"

"I thought you told him," Havoc told Fuery, who shook his head. "Oh well, now you do. We could actually use your back up on the concocted emergency. It'll make it seem more real if you're in on it too."

"I can do that," he said as he finished with his pretend shuffling, filing them into the correct cabinets and putting them away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish some work before she gets back. Let me know if there's anything else I can do." Walking calmly to his office, he shut the door behind himself and immediately let his calm mask drop. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap…!!"

Quickly realizing he had no idea what he could get his long time aide that wasn't far too personal or too formal, he called the next person who he thought might be of help.

"Gracia?" he said when the person on the other end of the line answered the phone. "I need some help…"

Unfortunately, that source wasn't as helpful as he thought it would be. Riza kept her secrets just that, secret. No one knew really what she wanted; the crew had actually purchased a weekend vacation in the mountains for her and the kids where Black Hayate could come along too that would be good for the next year. And Gracia's other ideas were much like his, jewelry wasn't something that Riza exactly wore, ever, and even if she liked the a piece she would be reluctant to wear it if it ever interfered with her duties. Clothes was a territory he was staying far away from, and he felt bad getting her another gun related something or other when that was what he had routinely purchased for her in the years past. He had to come up with something new, something useful, and yet something personal that would be especially from him.

Hours passed as he agonized over the knotted problem, actually eliciting more threats from his aide upon her return to finish his work than he had earned in the last few months combined. When she seriously asked him what was wrong, with a concerned look that made him realize how much he was letting this affect him, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders, blaming it on a lack of sleep. Getting down to work, she had left him alone for the rest of the day when he finally proved to be making some headway. Waiting for her to leave first, though, he went out to find all of the men save Marshall and Maria still there finishing up a few last minute details.

"So," he said as he leaned against one of the empty desks, immediately catching all of their attention. "I have run into a small problem…"

"What, you're trying to decide which way you should flip your hair tomorrow?" asked Havoc with an impertinent grin. "You always look better when it's to the right, sir."

"I'm trying to decide what to get the Lt. Colonel for her birthday," he admitted with a defeated look.

"Wow, you've probably been searching for weeks, huh," said Kants as he rubbed his chin, Roy not bothering to correct him though he did shrug in embarrassment. "Well, what is the Lt. Colonel into, other than guns?"

"That's the problem, no one really knows," Roy replied roughly. "She cooks, but I wouldn't even know where to begin or if she needs any other new pans. She shoots, but I'm not buying her more bullets or a new rifle. She takes of Zeke and Beth, but what could I possibly get to help her there? And she works, which I'm not springing for a new uniform or something."

"Jewelry?" offered Brosh before he realized how stupid that was. "Sorry."

"Flowers?" added Falman, feeling just as dumb a few seconds later. "Never mind."

"Hey, I got it!" said Havoc, rummaging around in his desk and tossing something at his superior officer's head. Roy caught it and found himself holding a bow.

"What's this for?" he asked, raising a brow skeptically.

"You put it on, duh," Havoc replied. "Its pure genius, for Riza's birthday, you give her you!"

"I'm not even going to begin formulating the reasons why that is a bad idea," Roy growled, throwing it back shortly. "Fine, I'll go find help somewhere else."

Unfortunately for him, somewhere else was even harder to find. Winry could only suggest various tools she thought might be useful in the repair of guns. Maria had shrugged, at a loss, and suggested a night on the town. He wasn't about to push his luck when he'd already had one date with her just over a month ago so that was nixed as well.

Three days later, and no closer to his goal, Roy was finally desperate enough to try the one source that might backfire on him: the children. He was fairly certain the pair could keep their mouths shut about things if they wanted to, he just wasn't sure how much incentive he could give them to do so.

So, with Gracia keeping Riza busy helping make dinner with Elysia watching on the sidelines, he slipped off with the pair and explained his need to them.

"I dunno," Zeke replied with a shrug. "I've only been in her bedroom maybe four times. There's lots a books there, and guns, but I dunno what else."

Beth, however, had a sparkle in her eyes as she motioned for her Uncle Roy to come closer. Listening carefully, the alchemist smiled when she was finished and thanked her. If there were a few conspiratorial smiles over dinner, the Lt. Colonel didn't seem to notice, and the few extra bills both kids slipped into their piggy banks went without observation as well.

-0i0-

Birthdays were something Riza had an unusual opinion of. The celebrating, the cake, the presents, all of it was fine and welcome so long as the person in question enjoyed it as well. Because she advocated for these people who didn't enjoy the communal celebrating, she expected the same to be done in return. Since none of the people in the Flame Alchemist's command agreed she had come to her face her birthday much like a convicted criminal facing the hangman's noose.

So when she arrived early and Ross sparred with her without comment she thought it might be a good day after all. They actually ran over a bit, and both women were barely on time much to the surprise of the others. None of them said a word about Riza's birthday, though, and she even had to resort to her usual threats to make sure they stayed on track. Settling into the usual routine, especially when Roy arrived fifteen minutes late and had to be goaded through the stacks of paper on hid desk, she thought of nothing else but work until a white-faced Marshall brought a sealed letter from the Fuhrer himself into the office.

-0i0-

Riza grumbled under her breath, brushing the dust from her sleeve and checking the next file with the mind-numbing detail it required to be sure their many cases would hold up to examination. Everything that she had personally handled was flawless, of course, but she had run across a couple of files the men had poorly put together. Havoc and Brosh, who worked on either side of her, seemed to flush with guilt whenever she pointed that out. Especially if it was a file one of them had personally handled.

It was around lunch time with Brosh and Havoc withdrew and the same time, begging off on the need to get a drink or use the restroom. Waving them away, Riza plunged onwards as she was determined to get as much done as possible with in the time left. Closing another file with a satisfying thunk, she was about to open another when one part of arms latched around her leg and the other her waist. Glancing down, she was met with the large smiles of her charges.

"Surprise!" they said, grabbing her hands and dragging her towards the door where everyone else was bursting into a rousing if off key rendition of 'Happy Birthday' with a big cake in the middle of them. They had settled for about twenty candles, since that was all that would safely fit on the top, but on the sides of the vanilla frosted chocolate was a giant 26 in bright blue.

Normally, right about then would be the time Riza would pull out her guns, shoot over their heads and ask what the hell they thought they were doing. The men had done their homework, though, and had found two guaranteed safety measures to be present. One was the children, the other was her grandfather.

Of course, that left the only plausible course of action as graciously accepting the place they had set for her before blowing out the burning candles. It was very wise of them that they had not tested her patience further with trick candles, but as the cake was cut and the punch served even Riza had to agree that the celebration wasn't all that bad. The men were polite, there was no mention of presents, and her grandfather left soon after her had wished her a happy birthday. A small, unobtrusive envelope was tucked in her purse for later, and that was it. As the children had to be back at school in time for their next class, the party was short-lived with the group's immunity leaving soon.

Falman drove the kids back to their respective schools, and Riza accepted the card and vacation inside from her subordinates with a small smile. For those who had known her the longest, there were brief hugs, for the rest, sincere handshakes and as she finished thanking her way through all of them a thought occurred to her.

Roy had been absent or far in the background for the entire celebration. She wasn't sure if she was pleased or not by this development. Deciding that shoving it to the back of her mind as unimportant was the wisest course of action, the Lt. Colonel exited the main room and into her office for the remainder of the day.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was finding her superior officer seated at her desk positioning a small spot of daisies in an opportune ray of sunshine.

"A little bird mentioned you might appreciate these," he said as he looked up at her with a bright smile. "And a little extra color certainly won't hurt this place."

"Thank you, sir," she replied with a nod, too stunned to formulate a more sincere reply though it was sincerely meant. Who could possibly have told him…? "I do appreciate them, greatly."

"Good, I'm glad." Relinquishing her seat, he left and wasn't seen again away from his own desk until it was time to go home.

-0i0-

Riza walked in her front door to the smell of her favorite meal already waiting on the table, and Beth and Zeke eager to share their gifts with her. The home make picture frame with a photo of them at the beach was given a treasured place on her night stand, and a painting of their home with everyone around it placed on the refrigerator for everyone to see. Elysia's present came in the form of a picture of Black Hayate that she drew with markers, and it joined the painting proudly.

The evening passed quietly, and surprisingly Roy-free, but as Riza shut Zeke's bedroom door behind her gently for the night there came a soft knocking at the front door. Answering it after checking the peephole with a gun handy, she gave the reather disheveled Brigadier general an odd look and moved to let him in.

"Sorry for the late hour," he said quietly as she shut the door behind him, noting the lowered lights and closed doors in the hallway above. "I had thought to give you this earlier, but I wasn't sure how you would react…"

Raising one brow skeptically, Riza accepted the small velvet box and hesitated to open it.

"It's not a ring, I swear," he added when he realized how it must look. "Just something else a little birdie mentioned."

"Does this little birdie have a name?"

"Yes," he replied slowly. "But I promised not to tell."

"Ah." Carefully lifting the lid, her eyes widened at the sight of a new hair clip. It was shaped much like her old one, a rectangle that doubled back on itself, but it was a slightly darker brown. At the very back, in think sliver lines, there was a picture of soaring hawk that you could only see completely if you caught it in a certain light.

"Your little bird wouldn't happen to be five years old and sleeping upstairs, would she?" the woman asked with a hint of amusement. Beth had been the only person around when she'd dropped her favorite clip and it had cracked in half not that long ago. Since then she'd been using hair ties and bobby pins, but it just wasn't the same.

"She's a very wise little bird," he replied, giving an easy shrug. "Do you like it?"

"I do. Thank you, Roy."

"You're welcome." The Brigadier general then hesitated, a shy smile on his face. "Well, it's late, and we both are up early tomorrow. Here is my last present, though it's more like returning something you have already given me twice."

With her thoughts firmly fixed on what she possibly could have given him twice, her pensive look was replaced by one of wide-eyed surprise when his lips brushed lightly against her forehead. Bidding her a soft goodnight, he left and shut the door behind himself. Feeling as though she had just let something very important slip out of her grasp, Riza sighed in frustration and got up to lock the door, turning out the lights as she went to bed.

-0i0-

The new clip was slowly noticed by the others at the office, though no one was sure who it was from or when she had received it. The only thing they knew for sure was Roy would sometimes get a very pleased look on his face when she walked past, and Riza would sometimes let a hand stray up to it when turning down a date with one of the officers that were appearing with increasing frequency. Ever since the fraternization laws had changed she had been propositioned at least once a week by men at Central, especially when they realized Roy didn't have an open claim on her. Yes, they were careful not to do it in the presence of the Brigadier General, and yes, no one had managed to secure a date with her yet, but there was hope. There was always hope.

-0i0-

And that is chapter 11. Please review, it makes my day to hear from you guys!

Replies:

SxL : You were the first to review chapter 10, congratulations! Yeah, I thought it should start and end with Roy, it makes sense that way. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Bark-Ohki : Who'd of thought that little brat would be of use, right? Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed it!

Bizzy : Lack of coherence is something I experience too. I, too, would have preferred the 'virginal' Riza history, but the fact is the original storyline suggests otherwise. Especially when concerning the way Riza and Roy acted at the end of the anime and movie. And Riza's never struck me as the 'inexperienced' type. She just seems like she'd know her way around a bed. 'Coordinated as a dead cow' is great, it makes me laugh too. : )

Kurissyma san Tybalt : Pfft, that's the point, Roy never loses no matter what. Then again, if he'd won it'd have been more like losing because I bet Riza'd been pissed…yeah, it was much better for him to lose. Glad to hear you're on break, yay for vacations! And good luck practicing violin, especially with the finger cramps. I used to get those all the time.

Anne Packrat : Everyone seconds the marriage proposal, it'll just take forever to get it to happen. : P Thanks for the review!

Momiji-k : Yeah, I realized that after I posted the chapter and was too lazy to fix it. Sorry! You knew who I meant, though. Wow, a whole hour? That is pretty impressive! Hope your dream with Roy was good, whatever it was that was in it, and hopefully you were able to catch up on that lost sleep later on!

OTP : It is a talent, and a discipline. Anyone can write this much, really, it's just teaching yourself to do so that's the hard part. Thanks for the review!

Crystal Mage : Only two chapters at the beach. Not even, really…we could have done more, but I'm anxious to keep things moving along and much more would get repetitious, I think. And there's more fluff, just like you asked! And hey, reread all you like, I always reread my favorite stories later on, you should do the same too!

SakuraAyanami : Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Winglessfairy25: Yeah, I know about the typo, sorry! And one thing I think Riza most certainly is is shockingly honest. Once you have her friendship, you have all of her, and when you ask her something she's going to give it to you point blank. Do I think that varies from the guys to the girls a bit? Yeah. But I think if Roy flat out cornered Riza and asked if she found him attractive she would say yes, but then be so pissed she wouldn't speak to him for a month. That's just who she is. Sorry for the mini-rant, hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

Causmisfire : You had so many great comments, I wish I could reply to all of them but I'm trying to get the chapter posted before midnight so I can get some sleep. So…here's the short version. Of course Roy tricked them, men and alcohol means trouble, always gotta remember the details (like tattoos and scars), Havoc is good with kids, Zeke is opening up to Riza, the men always have another lesson to learn, kids always parrot back what their elders say, and character history is always fun to explore. Whew! Anyways, thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

FinlandGirl : Sorry, the action doesn't really come into play until the 13th or 14th chapter. This is a fluff, non-action story. Can't change that now. Hope you enjoyed it!

Rizalicious : Of course it's fantastic, I'm busting my butt on this fic! Glad you enjoyed it, please review again!

Dailenna : Yeah, Grandaddy Grumman footing the bill does rock. And of course Zeke got the message across, it's kind of a given that kids will see what adults refuse to acknowledge. It was a full chapter, but I tried to balance it out a bit. This one's shorter, I think. Hope you enjoyed it, though, and thanks for the review!

Blknblupanther1 : I'm glad you just LUVED it! It wasn't really a cliff hanger, I haven't put you guys through one of those yet.

Winged Chunsa :What is a Chunsa, just for the record? It's been bothering me for awhile ;; I am glad you enjoyed the chapter, though, and thanks for the review!

Aindel S. Druida : Of course you must visit the beach, if you don't the world will end! Glad you enjoyed it, and sorry for the typos. They just always seem to happen whether I try to catch them or not. Thanks for the review!

Yun Min : Updated! It is a pretty full chapter, but I think it was fairly well balanced out. Glad you enjoyed it!

Leigh : Oh, that's alright. BUT YOU MAY NOT EVER, EVER, EVER MISS ONE AGAIN! Not like I can do anything if you do, though : P. Thanks for the many compliments, hope you don't miss another chapter!

Jacksparry589 : Oh, so you really have no idea where this story is going most of the time? Well, that makes my day! I love to be able to say that I'm unpredictable in my plots, it makes me feel sneaky. :3 Aww, starting to like Zeke, huh? And trust me, you'll only like him more in a few chapters, it makes my heart break to think of what's to come. And sorry, the guys have learned their lessons in the past and have strictly behaved themselves. Besides, the peaking gimmick is so overdone it's really easy to see coming. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the freaking long review, hope to hear from you again soon!

Dennisud : Hehe, you're jumping a bit ahead but it seems you have caught on to one of my probable end pairings with this fic. I like the idea of Maria and Havoc because he needs someone down to earth enough to keep him grounded, and she needs someone light hearted enough so she's not so serious all the time. That, and he is more mature than Brosh, so it works out well. And yeah, Zeke's about to get tons of screen time, stay tuned!

Jennlyn78 : Yep, lots did happen, and there's lots more to come. Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Riza Hawkeye 9 : Wow, glad you liked it! I hope the next chapter is just as good, and that your enjoyment of this story continues to grow with the characters and plot. Thanks for the review!

So Like Riza : Well, now you know. Thanks for the review!

blaznXrapture : Welcome, my new friend! Um, sorry, no Ed or Al. At all. They're somewhere else not here, and we do not know where. So, yeah, no. If you want to catch up with the manga I suggest getting an account at www dot narutocommunity dot net . They have all of the current FMA manga, as well as lots of others available for download free. It's good stuff! I try and update about once a week on Sunday night, Monday morning at the latest. Glad you enjoyed it, and hope to hear from you again!

Humor Queen Merc : I didn't think it was _that _perverted… O:) Glad you enjoyed it!

Hawkeye Chuui : Updated! Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

FFVII : Aww, well, take your time and when you finish let me know. I don't really see Riza 'waiting' for Roy forever in that sense. I see her more likely to realize through trial and error in her younger years that there is no other man for her than Roy, and then sticking by his side for eternity. And Riza said they weren't in love, but I tried to give it a sense of her once more just trying to push Roy away, like it wasn't that important because it was just 'hormones'. Sorry if it didn't come through. Glad you enjoyed it, though.

GreyBlue Angel : Yeah, gotta love getting back to civilization. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Deadly-bliss : Yeah, that's pretty much the setting of the story. And now Riza is the last person in the bloodline available to watch the kids. Hope you're catching up and figuring things out!

Well, guys, that's it for now. I'm off to bed, hope you enjoyed it, please review! It's better than crack and guarantees a good chapter!

CB

'It's not that I want you to die so much as I want you to stop being alive…'

-My sister, who rarely makes sense.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry this is late, guys. I had another wedding to go to this weekend (seems like everyone's getting married these days) and didn't get back in time to post it yesterday. Forgive me; as a result this chapter is rather rushed as well. I did do a read-through and edit before I posted it, but it's not as thorough as usual. I hope you enjoy it regardless, and thanks to the many of your who reviewed, its always appreciated.

-0i0-

Personal days in the army could be a tricky thing. If you were on the front lines, you got so many weeks of leave for so many months of service each year. At the Head Quarters, one received two weeks of leave during the summer, a week of vacation time, and a one week's worth of personal days. If those days weren't used, they rolled over to the next year for use. Eventually, if one got too many, a person would be forced into a leave of sorts to use up two or three weeks worth of days, but those cases were rare.

No one was sure how many days Riza had stored up, but it was a lot. So when Beth woke up with a fever and needed to be taken to the doctor Roy had no trouble giving her the entire day off on such short notice. However, that put him in a rather odd position later that day.

The call came around lunch time, Havoc handing the phone off to Roy who spoke to the teacher from Zeke's school. Something had happened, she said, and Zeke needed to be picked up immediately. Did he know where his guardian, Riza Hawkeye, could be reached?

Explaining how Riza would not be available for some time, he then asked if he could come and get the boy in her stead. The teacher asked him to wait, and after checking to be sure his name was on the list of acceptable people to release Zeke to she agreed that it would be fine.

The drive over was short, his thoughts more focused on what could possibly have happened. Zeke was a good kid, not given to random fits of anger or violence. He was smart, quick to learn, his teachers liked him, and his peers accepted him. And he hadn't looked sick the night before, while Beth had been a mite pale all through supper. So what could have possibly happened?"

Pulling up to the front of the school, he was somewhat surprised when he was met by the Headmistress at the front door. Ushering him into her office, she shut the door firmly behind them and gave him a hard look.

"While I am sure you believe yourself to be doing Miss Hawkeye a favor, it would have been better to send one of your subordinates this time," she said without preamble, taking a seat behind her desk and motioning to the chairs in front of it.

"How so?" he replied as he sat as well.

"Ezekiel attacked one of his classmates during their lunch period when one of the boys insisted something he had heard his uncle say was true," she explained, choosing her words with care. She began to explain exactly what had been said.

It was the look in the Flame Alchemist's eyes that made her words trail off, first confusion, then understanding and shock that had quickly melted into a seething rage that burned despite the calm mask he had in place.

"Who?" was all he said, and she answered him truthfully as she realized he would work until he ha the tame. A First Lieutenant under a General who worked just around the corner from his office.

"What will happen to Zeke?" he asked as his mind whirled with possible ways to deal with the man.

"You say that Miss Hawkeye should be home by now? Then I will take him there myself."

"Good. I will be heading back to Head Quarters to take care of some…unfinished business. Thank you."

"Of course."

The drive back to Head Quarters was a blur, his mind quickly working through the details of what must be done upon his return. Stopping by the office, he informed Havoc that he was taking the rest of the day off and neither he nor Riza would be coming in the next day either. Ignoring all questions of why, he then walked down to the office of one General Drummond.

The man was in his later years, and heavy set with a salt and pepper beard that contrasted sharply with his bald head. He and Roy Mustang had an easy respect for each other for many years, and had for the most part kept out of each other's hair in the inner workings of the military.

So when the Flame Alchemist requested an immediate audience, it as met with quick compliance. Standing before the General, he asked for the First Lieutenant to be called in as well. Explaining to the General that it would become clear momentarily, Roy then addressed the First Lieutenant as he entered the room.

"It's been awhile, Lieutenant," Roy told the man as he took a seat, leaving the subordinate standing. Tall and well-muscled, the man had won his promotions by being a good solider and not because he could command well. Loud mouthed and brash, his opinions had gotten him into trouble more than once.

"Sir," the man replied, looking a little nervous. "Why am I here?"

"Just to answer some questions." Roy gave a cheery smile, the kind that made several people feel far more nervous than they did before. "Now, I understand your nephew attends Rochester Academy, a good private military school, yes?"

"Yes, sir. A very good school." He hesitated, then added, "I fail to see how this is relevant, sir."

"That is precisely why Lt. Colonel Hawkeye sent her ward there," the Brigadier General replied quickly, ignoring the last part of what the Lieutenant had said. "A good school for him to learn and grown in. Did you know, Lieutenant that Ezekiel, her ward, is in the same grade as your nephew?"

The man was visibly sweating now. "Un, no, sir…"

At this the Flame Alchemist's smile vanished, and the look he gave the man was downright murderous. "And were you aware, Lieutenant, that Slander is a crime we hold very seriously in the martial courts of law?"

The Lieutenant didn't answer his face now ashen and his hands trembling ever so slightly. "Consider this a warning, Lieutenant," Roy went on softly. "General Drummond deserves to know exactly why this warning is necessary. Do tell him, Lieutenant."

The man was now visibly shaking, his every word halting and weak as he repeated what he had so foolishly told his brother, sister and law and their son the week before. The more Roy heard the angrier he grew, but his flushed face was nothing compared to the purple shade of the General's visage by the time the man was through.

"Thank you for bringing this indiscretion to my attention, Brigadier General Mustang," the man said as he rose from his seat, voice as cold as ice. "It shall be appropriately dealt with."

"I am glad to hear it, sir."

Taking his leave, Roy got back in car and headed towards Riza's house.

-0i0-

A touch of the flu, the doctor had said when the examination was through. A few days of rest and Beth would be right as rain. With Roy picking up Zeke and Gracia out shopping for a few hours, she settled on the couch while her charge slept peacefully upstairs. Expecting to get at least some reading done, she was surprised when there was a business like knock on her front door.

Opening the door proved even more of a shock, for there stood Mistress Hoffenbeck with a sorry looking Zeke beside her. Eyes red and swollen and his nose sniffling quietly, he had a bruise that was turning a lovely purple around his left eye, his lower lip was split and a few deep scratches ran along his chin and neck. His pants had a hole in the knee and one sleeve had been half torn off his coat. He walked with a limp as though he'd hurt his knee and to top it off he looked like he'd rolled through a puddle of mud.

"I never thought I'd see the day you would fight in school, Zeke," she said with a calm that surprised both the headmistress and boy. "My apologies for not picking him up myself. Zeke, go to the kitchen and get out the first aide kit, I will be there shortly."

Zeke did as he was told, head hung sullenly as he did.

"He will be suspended for a day, those are the rules," Mistress Hoffenbeck said with a hint of regret. "I will let him tell you the circumstances, but the parents of the other boy have already forced him to apologize for what he said and firmly stated that it was the uncle, not they, who said such things to the boy. There will not be a repeat of this incident from that particular student, I can promise you that."

With that the older woman took her leave, a confused Riza watching the car as it pulled out of the drive way. In the kitchen she found Zeke sitting at the table, glumly daubing antiseptic onto one of his scratches. Taking the cloth gently from his hands, she took over the operation and asked, "Well?"

"It wasn't my fault," he insisted flatly. "Thomas was saying stuff he had no business saying. Is Beth alright?"

"Just the flu, she'll be fine in a few days. Did you hit him first?" she asked quietly.

"…yes."

They were silent for awhile, Zeke closing his eyes and doing his best not to wince as she probed and bandaged his many scrapes.

"Why?"

Zeke shook his head. "Stuff he shouldn't have said."

Riza frowned, pulling the boy's chin up gently until his eyes met hers. "Did he say something about your parents?" she guessed. "Or your sister?"

"No," he whispered, averting his eyes as much as he could. "Just…bad stuff."

"Zeke, you need to tell me what was said," she sighed as she let go, his eyes once more cast to the floor. "I can't help you work through this until I know what made you angry enough to strike one of your classmates."

The boy lowered his head further and quietly obeyed. "He said…that Uncle Roy doesn't really like me an' Beth that he just pretends so he can sleep with you. An' that the only reason he's got his job is because your grandpa is the Fuhrer. I told him to shut up, because he didn't know what he was talking about, but he wouldn't stop and I got him good right across the jaw…I don't really remember after that, until Mr. Samson and Mr. Dwight were pulling us apart and Hoffenbeck came to drag us to her office by the ear."

The woman across from him had gone completely still, her jaw clenched tight and eyes staring past him at a distant point.

"Aunt Riza?" he called in a small voice when she didn't say anything. Her eyes seemed to snap back into focus, looking at him with a cold anger that would have been frightening had it not melted away the moment eyes met his. Holding her arms open as she leaned forward in her chair, he buried his head in her shoulder and cried for the second time that day.

"I'm sorry," she sighed as she rocked him gently. "I am so sorry you were put in that position because of me…"

"He shouldn't have said it, it's not true," Zeke replied fiercely, fingers digging into the back of her shirt.

"Of course it's not," she murmured, running a hand through his hair comfortingly. "Of course it's not."

A long time seemed to pass before the front door opened again, a worn looking Roy peeking n the kitchen carefully. "Riza?" he said quickly as he came into view. "Zeke?"

"Zeke, why don't you go upstairs, change and check on your sister," said the blonde gunwoman as she pulled away slowly. "Did you eat lunch?"

"No, we were getting ready to when Thomas started talking."

"I'll make you something; if Beth's awake ask her if she wants some soup."

"Ok." The boy gave both adults a long look before he exited upstairs, leaving them in silence.

"Roy," she whispered hoarsely as she mechanically pulled out a can from the pantry and removed the lid, her eyes refusing to even glance at him. "Do you know?"

"I know," he replied, laying a hand on her shoulder. "That's why Mistress Hoffenbeck brought Zeke home."

She met his gaze briefly and gave a weak smile. "You've already taken care of it, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"I'm going to go talk to Zeke," he said as he sensed she needed to be alone right then. "I wasn't able to earlier. Will you be alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied automatically, pulling a pan out to the put the soup out. He didn't believe her, but he nodded just the same.

"Ok."

-0i0-

Zeke wasn't sure how long he stood there staring at the torn and bloodied shirt in his hands, but he had just put it down and grabbed a clean on when a light knock came at the door. His hair was wet from rinsing himself off in the tub rather quickly, but at least the mud was gone.

"Come in," he said as he pulled the shirt over his head and winced as his bruises protested painfully.

"It's me," Roy said as he popped his head in. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," the boy admitted abashedly. "Fighting hurts more than I thought it would."

"It usually does," Roy replied with a faint smile. "I think we need to talk."

"What about?" he asked as he pulled on clean socks, taking a seat on his bed as Roy made use of his desk chair. "I already know what Thomas said isn't true."

"Well, mostly not true," the older man replied hesitantly. "You see…"

"I know you're not sleeping with her," Zeke broke in, rolling his eyes. "So you don't have to lie about that.

"No, I…wait, what?" The Flame Alchemist stared at the boy, Zeke staring back. "Just out of curiosity, what makes you say that?"

"I don't really fall asleep until the living room lights are out," he replied with an easy shrug. "And Aunt Riza never turns the lights out until she goes to bed. She never goes to bed until after you've left, and your car has never been in the drive when I wake up in the middle of the night. I checked."

"…oh." Roy was too stunned to formulate more of a reply, but the boy went on.

"Not that I would really mind if you did, you're a good guy, and Aunt Riza deserves to be happy but that's besides the point."

"That's not what I was talking about," Roy barged in, rubbing his temples slowly with both hands. "Zeke, I have a confession to make. When you first came to live with Riza I didn't…I wasn't trying to help for the right reasons. Selfishly, it was because I wanted to be closer to her, not to you or your sister."

The boy seemed to pause, the asked softly, "Why does Aunt Riza mean so much to you, Uncle Roy?"

Roy gave a bitter laugh with a slight shrug. "Because she once trusted me with far more than I deserved, and I...failed her. What's worse is that it took me two years to admit my failure. I've been trying to make up for it ever since."

"I think she likes you, a lot," the boy offered honestly. "She always smiles when you're around."

"Thanks."

There was a short silence, and then: "So…do you like me and Beth? At all?"

"Yes, I do, and not just because Riza takes care of you," he replied, giving the boy a warm smile. "I think in some ways, you two are the light we needed in our dark lives. You are growing up very quickly, but you are still a boy. There is still so much for you to learn and experience, and I want to help you grow into a man your parents would be proud of. I once promised Riza I would be there for your guys until you no longer needed me, and I intend to see that promise through to the end."

"I hope we never don't need you," Zeke said so sincerely that Roy felt his heart melt a little. "Or Aunt Riza."

"I'll do my best."

Hearing a plaintive cry from the room next door, they peeked in to see Beth lying awake in her bed with her red nose running and a miserable look on her face.

"Not feeling well, little missy?" asked Roy as he sat next to her, Zeke standing by the table and pouring her another drink of water. The little girl shook her head slowly, her lower lip pouting sadly.

"Soup and crackers for you," said Riza as she entered the room, Black Hayate at her feet. "Zeke, yours is on the counter downstairs, and I made you something as well, Roy. Hurry, before it gets cold."

"I'll be back," Zeke promised, giving his sister a peck on the forehead before scampering away down the stairs. Roy did much the same, giving Riza a quick touch on the shoulder before he left as well.

"Why is Zeke home?" asked Beth as she glanced at the clock by the bed. "What happened to his eye?"

"He had a bad day at school, so he's home for today and tomorrow," Riza replied with a faint smile. "He'll be fine, he's just a little banged up. How was your nap?"

"Ok…" Beth nibbled on a cracker as they waited for the soup to cool. "My head feels funny."

"I'll give you more medicine after you eat, you'll feel better in the morning," she promised, putting a hand to the young girl's forehead and finding it less warm than before. Beth ate half her soup before she said she was full, taking her medicine like she said she would and falling asleep again with Riza curled up around her on the bed.

Roy came to find her like that a few hours later, the sun setting outside and the clock by the bed reading a few minutes before six.

"Did I wake you?" he asked quietly as Black Hayate took the woman's place.

"No," she replied, mostly shutting the bedroom door behind herself carefully. "I was just resting. I didn't realize how much time…where is Zeke."

"Asleep in his room, I think the fight and everything just wore him out, he drifted off talking to me after we played chess for awhile."

"Oh."

"Riza, we need to talk."

"Yes," she agreed, her eyes suddenly taking on a distinctively set cast. "We do."

"Don't talk like it has already been decided," he replied quickly, catching her hand halfway down the stairs. "Riza, don't say something you don't mean."

"You know that I mean it when I say I want to do my best for these two," she shot back, her voice short and clipped though she didn't try to retrieve her hand.

"They've had us and half of our command in bed together for years, it's never bothered you before," he argued as he followed her downstairs into the kitchen.

"It's never affected someone else before. Roy, Zeke lashed out at one of his classmates because of this, physically struck one of his peers. He's not a violent boy, and I will not be the reason he has to raise his hand against a friend."

"Forcing me out of their lives won't stop the rumors."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." Trapping her front of the sink, with a hand on either side, she held his hard gaze for a few moments. Turning around, she began to rinse the dishes as though it was what she had meant to do all along. Roy sighed and let his head drop to her shoulder, drawing his hands hesitantly about her waist when she went still. "Please," he whispered his voice hoarse. "I have done everything I know how to be there for those two. This isn't my fault, so don't take it out on me. I've come to need those kids as much as they need me; I want to be here for them as long as I can. Don't push me away, please, don't make me leave now."

"What am I going to do, then?" she asked, surreptitiously wiping something from her eyes though he pretended not to notice. "I'm supposed to be raising them, not teaching them to fight off criticisms about their guardian."

"I don't know," he admitted, enjoying the smell of her hair despite the severity of the situation. "But getting rid of me is not the answer."

Falling into silence, both were brought out of the moment by the sound of the door to the other duplex opening slowly.

"Hello?" Gracia called tentatively.

"In the kitchen," Riza replied, Roy already moving away and taking a seat at the table.

"Roy told me earlier when I peeked in and saw Zeke's face," she said, coming and giving Riza a warm hug. "How are they now?"

"Resting, though they'll both be home tomorrow so I suppose I should be too…"

"You already have the day off," Roy replied from where he sat, putting the chess board away. "Coincidentally, so do I."

Riza gave him an odd look, but he just smiled and kept on stacking the pieces in their box. "So you won't need to watch Beth tomorrow, or pick her up from school."

"Alright. Are either of you hungry? I have some chicken that will be ready in a bit."

"No, thank you," said Riza as Roy shook his head. "I only ate a little while ago and I haven't had much of an appetite today."

"Well, then I'll just head back over. If you need something you know where to find me."

"Aunt Riza?"

Gracia disappeared as the pair went back upstairs, Riza crawling back in bed with their invalid and Roy pulling the rocker over so he could talk to the little girl until she fell asleep again.

"Uncle Roy?" she asked, eyes half closed as she nestled deeper into Riza's side. "Are you gonna be here for always?"

"Yes, dearest, I am," he replied, meeting Riza's gaze with an air of defiance. When she nodded slightly, he smiled back and reached forward to stroke the young girl's cheek gently. "Uncle Roy will always be here for you."

"Good."

It wasn't long before she was asleep again, the adults heading back towards and when Zeke woke up a little while later with his tummy rumbling they were playing a quiet game of chess.

"Aunt Riza?" he asked as she made both males a sandwich, Roy checking the boy's cuts and scrapes again. "Are you going to make me promise not to fight again?"

"I should," she replied, putting the sliced ham and cheese between rye with mayonnaise and mustard. "Why?"

"Thomas or anyone else ever talks like that about you again I'm gonna break it," he replied firmly, his chin set mulishly. "If the say something that stupid, they deserve to get knocked down."

"No, people are going to say stupid things, Zeke, it's not your job to knock them down for it," Roy broke it, surprising Riza until he smiled broadly and added, "You leave that to the adults."

"What your Uncle Roy means," Riza broke in, giving the alchemist a sharp look. "Is that justice sometimes means being the bigger person and letting the wrongs that have been done to you pass without retaliation."

"But what if he really deserves it?"

"If everyone gave everyone else their just desserts everything they were wronged society would crumble into chaos. We gave up the right to strike our neighbor for striking us, but often times the punishments they received down the road are far more fitting then the revenge we would have wrought."

"But it made me feel better."

"Zeke." Roy spoke with a seriousness the boy had never heard before. "You should never, ever take pleasure in the pain and suffering of others. It may have felt good for a moment, but young become such a monster you would eventually hate the creature you had become."

He seemed to consider that for a moment, then tentatively asked, "But what if he hits me first?"

Roy nodded once. "Defend yourself if you must, and always your friends, but never throw the first punch again."

Zeke nodded as well, his mouth settling in a firm line. "I understand."

"Good."

-0i0-

Roy showed up bright and early the next morning, carting Zeke off to the park where they played fetch with Black Hayate, walked the many paths through the trees and ate two ice cream cones each. They tossed pennies into the fountains and made wishes, but refused to tell each other what they were, and then they accused each other of making a silly wish.

"I bet you wished for a day off of work or a date with a pretty girl," Zeke scoffed scornfully.

"I already have a day off of work, and your Aunt is making us dinner tonight. If she's not pretty then I don't know what is. What about you? I bet you wished for a pocketful of candy or a good grade on your next test."

"Pfft, that's kid stuff."

"And what are you?"

"A half-grown adult."

"Of course."

The fight was never mentioned, and neither was anything spoken of the night before. Together they played a few of the games the vendors offered along the way, and won a teddy bear Zeke declared would go to his sister to help her feel better. Roy agreed it was an excellent plan, and so ended up being the one to carry it for the rest of the morning.

-0i0-

Riza was just finishing their sandwiches when the boys stepped in the door, Beth waving at them from the living room floor where she sat ensconced in a dozen blankets drawing pictures on the coffee table. Black Hayate lay beside her, dozing in a patch of sun.

"Well, aren't you looking better today!" The Brigadier General said as he plopped down beside her.

"By node id blugged ub," Beth complained, adding another tissue to the growing pile to her right.

"That just means you're getting better."

"I hobe so."

"Go eat in the kitchen, you can come visit when you're done," Riza said as she came in with more crackers, a fresh cup of tea and the bottle of syrup the doctor had prescribed.

"Bleh, thad stuff id icky," Beth said as the pair left, making a face as Riza poured her a spoonful.

"I know, but it's just for a day or two more and you'll neer have to have it again," her guardian replied, helping her drink it down and putting the sweetened tea in her hands immediately afterwards.

"Can Zeke color wid me?" she asked when the mug was empty, picking up her crayon once more. "He colords really good."

"I don't see why not."

The rest of the day was spent around the low table, Roy drawing various alchemy circles in different colors and explaining their various uses to Zeke. Riza helped Beth with her artistic creations and ferried drinks and tissues from the kitchen as they were needed.

Elysia joined them when she got home from school, exclaiming over Zeke's black eye and asking if it hurt. When he puffed up his chest and said he didn't even feel it, Riza had reached over and tapped it lightly. The yelp and wince that followed was enough to make the adults chuckle and Zeke flush in embarrassment. However, he did stop boasting and soon all three forgot about it as they played together on the coffee table.

Gracia came over as well, offering to share dinner with them and Riza helping her in her kitchen while Roy kept an eye on the kids.

"How was your day off?" she asked as she sliced the vegetables for a salad.

"Quiet," Riza replied with an easy shrug. "Beth is doing better, and Zeke seems to have forgotten about yesterday entirely."

"Good. And Roy?"

"He's fine. He took Zeke to the park for awhile."

Gracia just smiled a little smile that she kept to herself. "That's nice."

-0i0-

Riza was in the middle of filing papers with Fuery flew into the records room, gasping something about the school and a phone call and waving an arm in the direction of the office. She ran in the door just in time to see Havoc putting the phone down, the chair-bound man telling her in hurried tones to go to Beth's school immediately, and that he would handle Roy and her paperwork, and someone would get Zeke if they had to. Giving a quick nod, she grabbed her things and obeyed as quickly as possible.

A worried administrator met her at the door, explaining that the girl had been crying for almost an hour and was completely inconsolable. The nurse was afraid she was going to make herself sick if she kept it up much longer, and no one knew what had caused the out burst in the first place.

They found the small girl in question curled up in the nurses office, still sobbing so hard her little body shook. Riza wasted no time in sitting down and pulling the child into her lap, holding her close as the sudden affection brought on a fresh wave of tears.

"Shh…shh…breathe, Beth, breathe, I'm here…"

Slowly, Beth began to calm down, hiccupping a bit as she buried herself in the older woman's shoulder. Hand running comfortingly through her hair, she seemed to sigh to herself when she was finally through. She leaned weakly into the Lt. Colonel's body, seeming spent of all her energy.

"Aunt Riza?" she asked after a long spell of silence, voice raw from her emotional expenditure. "Will you adopt me?"

"Why?" Riza replied in honest surprise, drawing back a bit so she could see the girl's tear-stained face. "I thought you were happy the way things were."

"I don't wanna be an orphan, so you gotta adopt me so I have a mommy again!" she cried, clearly becoming upset again until Riza let her bury her head back in her shoulder and rocked the small body gently for a bit.

"Shh…shh…just breathe, Beth…I need you to just breathe…"

"I don't wanna be an orphan," Beth cried in a faint voice as she allowed herself to be soothed. "Don't wanna be alone…"

"You have a family, you aren't alone," Riza tried to reason with her quietly, combing the blonde hair back from the sticky face and wiping the snot off with a tissue. "What about Zeke and Elysia, and Black Hayate and Gracia. Aren't they always there for you? And myself and Uncle Roy, have we ever left you alone?"

"But am I an orphan?" she demanded, balling her hands into fists as her face scrunched up again. "I don't wanna be an orphan; they're set away to live with mean people and are never happy again! That's what they said, that orphans are never, ever happy at the end!"

"Who told you this?"

"Some boys in my class," she sniffled in a pitiful voice. "They said their cousins were orphans, and had to live with their mean old aunt who smells like sour milk and dusty cats. I don't wanna go live with a mean old witch that smells like sour milk, I wanna live with you! You gotta adopt me an' Zeke, Aunt Riza, you gotta!"

"I believe you need to come with me for awhile," she said loud enough for the nurse and school administrator to hear. "We'll get this sorted out tonight after you've rested for a bit. Is that alright?"

She turned towards the administrator, who quickly said it would be fine and that she would inform Mrs. Jones immediately. Bundling up her small charge, the Lt. Colonel headed out of the school and to her car, driving home immediately and calling the office the moment she arrived to inform them that she would not be returning until the next day. With a quick assurance that everything was fine, she just was needed elsewhere for a bit, she the settled Beth down at the kitchen table and prepared them both a soothing cup of hot cocoa. With the wonderful powers of warm chocolate working their charms, it wasn't long before the young girl had regained a semblance of herself and was in a better frame of mind than before.

"Alright," said Riza when she was sure another outbreak of tears wouldn't occur, "I want you to tell me exactly what happened this morning in class."

"We were sharing our family pictures," the girl explained slowly as she sipped at her hot chocolate. "The ones that we drew awhile ago. Mine had the most people, so Mrs. Jones let me go last. I had to explain a lot, like how most of them aren't related to me but that they come over all the time and play and eat with us. It took awhile, but at recess some of the boys came over and said I was an orphan 'cuz I don't have a mom or dad and that I'd be sent off to live with an evil person soon 'cuz that's what always happens to orphans unless they get someone to adopt them real quick. I told them you'd never send me away, but they said it didn't matter. That it always happens in the stories and that it was gonna happen to me too. I don't wanna be an orphan, Aunt Riza, so you gotta adopt me so they can never, ever send me away!"

"No one is sending you anywhere," Riza promised, brows firmly knit together as she tried to hide her displeasure with whoever those boys were. Beth crawled into her lap, and she cradled the small body once more as tenderly as she knew how. "You and Zeke are in my care, and I'm not giving you up to anybody."

"But, they said…"

"I don't care what they said," Riza broke in gently, holding the girls' face so their eyes met. "They were wrong. I would sooner let them cut off my arm than let them take you or your brother away."

"I don't want them to cut off your arm!" Beth cried in alarm, sitting up straight as her eyes went wide with fear. "Please don't let them, I'll do whatever it takes, just don't let them cut off your arm…!"

"No one is coming to cut off my arm," the Lt. Colonel assured her young charge quickly, feeling rather exasperated with the entire situation. "Beth, what I'm trying to say is that you are very important to me, you and Zeke both. There is nothing in this world that could convince me to give you up, nothing at all. Adopting you wouldn't be difficult, but what I want you to understand is that my feelings will not change whether we go through with that or not. You will be just as precious to me before and after, and nothing is going to change that."

The small girl seemed to think on that for awhile, slowly sipping down the last of her hot chocolate in a contemplative manner. When the tears didn't seem to be close to resurfacing again, Riza placed the girl back in her chair and cleaned up the remains of their snack before popping over to Gracia's to let her know she wouldn't need to pick up Beth at school. Their neighbor was surprised to see her out of the office at that time, of course, but she just nodded and reminded the sharp shooter it was her turn to make the community meal that night. A trade was made when Riza realized she wouldn't have time to go buy groceries before then, and Gracia was more than happy to let Riza cook for the rest of the next week.

The rest of the day was spent quietly playing, reading, and coloring together until Roy brought Zeke home and the brother was enlisted to keep his sister occupied for a bit while the adults talked.

"She wants me to adopt her and Zeke," Riza said without preamble when they were in the kitchen alone, cleaning up the carrots and celery from the afternoon snack. "And as soon as possible."

"Why?" Roy replied, washing the few dishes in the sink if only to help out a bit. "I thought they were happy the way things were."

Riza explained about the outburst at school, and the ideas that had become fixed in the girl's mind since then. "I'll look into it this weekend," she said absently as she mulled over the situation itself. "I never thought they would want me to, so I never brought it up before. Zeke especially, I know he is handling things much better now but I always thought he might take it as an insult to try and change his last name."

"Perhaps it would be best," the Brigadier General agreed, putting the dried dishes away in their respective cabinets and drawers. "She needs some sort of reassurance, perhaps this is it. How difficult do you think it would be?"

"Not very, the trickiest part is the name change and that doesn't take more than a week to get through the court system," she mused aloud. "There would be fees and paper work to go along with it, but nothing too strenuous. A meeting with a lawyer, perhaps, to be sure the correct measures are taken…"

"Graica said to tell you dinner's ready," Zeke said as he popped into the room, Beth right beside him. "Can we go ahead over?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

"I can keep an eye on them for you while you're out on Saturday," Roy offered as they both washed their hands before following the kids. "Gracia and Elysia have a doctor's appointment and Zeke wanted me to look over some new arrays with him anyways."

"That would be great, actually…"

-0i0-

Gracia was the only one home when Riza returned on Saturday, her mouth set in a grim line as she set her purse and papers down before removing her light jacket.

"Is something wrong?" the mother asked, having popped over to borrow some eggs for a cake. "Riza…?"

Wordlessly, the sharpshooter handed over the papers, pointing to one paragraph specifically before she set about making herself a cup of tea.

"I see," Gracia said quietly after reading through the specified area. "Then…you won't…?"

"How could I?" Riza's voice was low, her head bent towards the empty mug as her hands went still. "How to choose…?"

The silence that fell between them was deafening, Gracia withdrawing quietly when she realized the other woman wished to be alone. Resuming making her tea, Riza picked up the stack of papers as the water heated, looked over them once more, and threw them in the trash.

-0i0-

Beth was the first one to burst in the door when the four of them returned from the park, Black Hayate barking happily as he pranced next to Roy and Zeke laughing at the dog's antics. If Riza seemed a bit slow to react to their enthusiastic greeting, no one seemed to notice, and when she was quieter than usual at Gracia's dinner table the mother didn't try and draw her out of her shell or tease her about her less than cheery smile.

Still, dinner progressed, nothing happened, and Riza headed back to her side of the duplex with Beth and Zeke in tow. Roy followed, the boy having asked him to help with a paper he was writing, but Riza stopped him at the door.

"Not tonight," she said with a solemn smile. "I…have something I need to talk to them about."

Roy paused at the odd request, then asked, "…is everything alright?"

"There are…complications with the adoption process," she explained in a low voice, giving a slight shrug at the same time. "I need to…it will take more time, and they should know…"

Immediate understanding flooded his face, and his posture relaxed once he was sure there was nothing to be worried about. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just let me have them to myself tonight, please."

"Alright. I'll come by tomorrow, if you want."

"That would be fine, Zeke will still want you to help him with his paper."

"I'll be there around lunch time."

"Alright."

-0i0-

Zeke sat in the living room with Beth on the couch, both of them wondering what was so important they discuss that their aunt had actually sent Roy away before his usual late hour on a Saturday night.

"Are you sure we're not in trouble?" Beth whispered as Riza came back from the kitchen, her hands gripping a mug full of tea firmly.

"I don't think so," he replied just as quietly. "Unless she knows about the cookies, but we only ate a few, Black Hayate is the one who ate the rest…"

"That's cuz you dropped them on the floor."

"I didn't mean to!"

Both of them fell silent when Riza sat in front of them on the coffee table, setting her mug beside her before looking at them solemnly.

"You're not in trouble," she said after a moment's hesitation. "Though I did wonder where the cookies went, that's not what this is about."

"You're not sending us away, are you?" asked Beth, her voice suddenly tight with fear.

"No, I'm not," Riza quickly reassured them with a slight smile. "But…I'm afraid adoption is not an option at this time."

Beth's eyes began to fill with tears as Zeke scowled darkly. "But why?!" the little girl cried as she grabbed Riza's hand. "I don't wanna be an orphan, Aunt Riza! You gotta adopt us so we're not orphans no more!"

"I don't care if you adopt us or not," Zeke added as the sharpshooter pulled the small girl into her lap. "It's not important to me, but it is to Beth. Why can't you just do it and get it over with?"

"You must be under my guardianship for a very long period of time before I can officially adopt you, and there are many rules and procedures you must follow…" Riza trailed off with a sigh. "More than I ever imagined. Beth, please understand, it's not that I don't want to adopt you, and the amount that I care for you and your brother doesn't change because of this. Nobody is taking you from me or me from you. I promise."

"I just don't wanna leave…I don't ever wanna leave…"

Riza cradled the small body all the closer, blinking back the tears that came to her eyes. "You won't have to. Trust me, please."

It was quiet for a long time, Zeke scowling as he stared at the floor and Beth huddling herself into Riza's chest as her tears subsided.

"I wish I knew how to take away your fear, your pain," the older woman said after a long time, her voice strangely tight as she began to blink furiously. "Reassure you that I will never let you go…all that I can do is promise that when I can adopt you, I will."

Nothing more was said after that, Beth continuing to sniffle sadly until she fell asleep from exhaustion in her guardian's arms. Zeke followed as Riza carried her upstairs, and after tucking them both in bed she went downstairs and locked herself in her room once the house was secure for the night. For the first time in a long time, Riza wept.

-0i0-

Well, things aren't quite on such a high note for once. Really rather depressing actually. And wait until the next chapter; you'll really love me then. Well, review please, it makes your author happy, and replies are down below this. I think that's all for now, so bye until next time.

Review Replies:

Ruki44 : Yep, interesting is definitely the right word. Thanks for the review!

OTP : Hey, I'm lazy too, the important part is having the chapter mostly ready far in advance to posting it so you're not trying to chug out twelve or thirteen pages (single spaced) fifteen minutes before you said you would post. Thanks for the review!

Dennisud : Another convert! You know how many times that has happened to me? Teen titans, for example. I never would have read any of the fan fics, let alone watched the series on youtube, had someone not written a fantabulous one shot in another section that I love and then I find out by checking her profile that she's got all sorts of stuff just as good in other areas. And thus, I became hooked. But hey, you'll live, at least you won't lack for something good to read! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Causmicfire: Wow, thanks for your many, many comments. You definitely have lots of favorite parts in each chapter, don't you? Let me tell you, the details you bring out really make my day, it's nice to know someone is noticing the little things. Thanks for the review!

Riza Hawkeye 9 : I update almost every Sunday night, or as close as I can get to it, and I'm glad you're enjoying the progress Riza and Roy are making in their relationship. Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Bar-Ohki : Yeah, I would say he is. She hasn't shot him yet, and that's certainly saying something. Thanks for the review!

Bizzy : I should amend that statement but saying it's not specific instances that give details pertaining to a past love life or anything. It's more like the way she handles herself and the men around her that gives me firm reason to believe that Riza knows how to handle a man in all areas of her life. And yeah, the idea for the hairclip took me hours to come up with. She really is a hard person to shop for! Thanks for the review!

GreyBlue Angel : I do my best, being IC is one of the marks of caring about the characters, and I really try to. Oh, and I don't think Roy will find out, because they fear him too much to ever let him do so. That, and murder would kind of ruin the way the fic is going, no? Thanks for the review!

Crystal Mage : I can understand that, going through fic withdrawal and finding one of your favorite ones has updated with a big juicy chapter right after you get back. It's like finding an ice cold water bottle when you're been dying of thirst or a fresh chocolate brownie with icing when you've been craving sweets. Now I'm drooling. Let's see, I think I have read it but it's not fresh in my mind. Elysia and Zeke is not serious, it's a little boy showing off for a little girl. And they'll probably just be friends when they're older. Hope you slept well, and thanks for the wonderful review. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Kurissyma san Tybalt : Gift giving is so bloody hard. Half the time when you rush it at the last minute they love what they got, and the other half you spend hours agonizing over it and they're like 'oh, that's nice' in the I'll keep it because you're my friend but that's it sort of voice. Yeah, totally sucks. Oh, I love Bubblegum2040. Stayed away from the fanfiction on purpose so I wouldn't have yet another thing to check every day, but I did give into the art cravings for awhile so I have a nice folder of collected fan work. Priss is the best character, in my opinion, and nothing will probably change that. You should write something, though, if the straight pairing is under represented. I just don't know what people are thinking these days. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

SxL : Glad to hear it's making you even happier! Hope I haven't disappointed you yet, and that it never will. Thanks for the review!

Dailenna : Wow, your reviews are like a delicious slice of chocolate cake. They last forever, and at the end leave you feeling oh so satisfied and good inside. I dunno if anyone else is gonna ask if they're a family, but it's possible. I don't think Roy would've actually proposed, I just think he might have discussed the possibilities of why he would or should have in the past due to whatever circumstances there might have been. Zeke is becoming a miniature Roy, but I don't think Riza minds, and Gracia thinks he's adorable so he's fine. It's if he keeps trying to flirt with Elysia when they're like 13 and he's not so cute anymore. Beth will always be cute, though, because she's Beth. I think Roy's men learn very quickly and are quite innovative about getting their way and yet not getting killed in the process. Thanks for the review, can't wait to hear from you again, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

SakuraAyanami : Glad you liked it, thanks for the review!

Leigh : There's going to be around 15 or 16 chapters in this story. I don't really know which yet, but I think that means we'll be finishing in the next month or so. Kinda sad, huh? Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

FFVII : Well, I hope the picture is finished eventually. Just take your time, it's not like we're in a rush here. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy25 : Glad you're having fun, thanks for your many, many kind words, and I'm doing the best I know how. Thanks for the review!

Jacksparrow589 : Brats seem to grow on everyone after awhile because the fact is, they're never really as bad as they seem at first. You just gotta get to know them to get past the tough streak. Anything is allowed when it promotes Royai, right? I'm glad you approve of Kants, Ed is gone, everyone else needs to get over that fact. I think everyone has a fireworks story, especially when it comes to guys. And don't worry, there will be plenty of opportune times in the future of lots of chances to be taken. It wouldn't be a good story if there weren't. Thanks for the review!

Blknblupanther1: No cliff hangers yet, and I don't think there will be. I'm not a fan of them. Glad to see you're enjoying it still, thanks for the review!

Aindel S. Druida : Hey, you can repeat words of praise, it's not like I keep track! More has been written, I hope it was to your satisfaction! Thanks for the review!

Yun Min : Thank you very much! Glad to know you're enjoying it, and hope to hear from you again!

Humor Queen Merc : Hope you weren't disappointed, thanks for the review!

Free Hero : Hey, personally I take it as a compliment that you actually felt guilty enough to review after all this time period. I can't tell you how many stories I've read and reread without actually ever reviewing even though I love them just because I'm that lazy. I hope it continues to be just as good, and I hope to hear from you again. However, if I don't I'll just nod and know you're every bit as lazy as I usually am.

Momiji-k : Hope this one was just as good, thanks for the review!

Jennlyn78 : Here it is! Thanks for the review!

WingedChunsa : Huh, that's an interesting name. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for answering my question. Hope to hear from you again!

Well my friends, that's it for now. See you in about a week!

CB

If I were half as smart as you are stupid I'd make Einstein look like a moron.

-Berber


	13. Chapter 13

-0i0-

Havoc sat in his wheelchair, fiddling with a cigarette in his fingers as he watched the Lt. Colonel across the room. Anyone else would have said she was wearing her usual no nonsense mask of determination as she went about her routine. Most anyone else didn't know her like he did.

Sometimes he would wonder when it would be that he began to read her so well. Had it been over night, or had it been a gradual thing? Had there been on particular event, such as when she had saved them from drowning themselves in depression after the Homunculi conflict had ended or when he'd first shared a bed with her on the battlefield, that had caused such a thing to happen? He didn't know for sure, but one thing was certain. Riza Hawkeye wasn't her usual self.

There was an extra tension in her shoulders, the corners of her mouth slightly more turned down that usual and a glaze to her eyes that bespoke of her thoughts being focused somewhere other than the task at hand. Her movements were slightly slower than normal, as though her usual determination to get everything finished on time was somewhat lacking, and a heaviness to her manner that seemed to suggest a deficit of sleep.

"Havoc, can you take this to Communications for me?" she asked as she delivered a sheaf of signed papers into his hands.

"Sure." Glancing about quickly, he added, "Hey, are you ok? You seem tired."

She hesitated, giving him a familiar smile with a shrug. "I am. Things have been difficult with the kids."

Havoc nodded. He had witnessed that himself at the last 'Friday Feast'. Zeke had been moody, and Beth downright withdrawn, refusing to leave Riza's side even for an instant and Elysia brought down because her two friends didn't want to play. Because of them, the entire evening had been off, and no one in the office had received an explanation for the kid's odd behavior.

"Say, isn't Roy staying late for a meeting tonight?" he asked just as she was about to move on. "What if I come over and take the kids off your hands for a bit? Beth may not come, but Zeke'll probably want out of the house for a bit."

"Can you get a ride home?" she replied slowly. "I won't be able to drive you."

"Yeah, I can. Catch a ride with you after work?"

"Alright."

-0i0-

Zeke sat on a bench next to his favorite chair-confined uncle, watching the park's merry-go-round spin and sharing a bag of popcorn.

"Your eye looks better," the older man offered, observing the young boy unobtrusively. "Riza fussing over it like a mother hen?"

Zeke touched the bruise absently and shrugged. "No, she's been good about leaving it alone, actually."

"And the other boy?"

"He's alright. We're kind of talking again; Aunt Riza said it's important to fix things now while I still can. I didn't want to at first, but I think she might be right."

"She usually is, and how's she doing? She looks tired and the office lately."

Zeke shrugged again, scratching his neck absently. "Good, most of the time. Her and Uncle Roy were fixing stuff around the house a lot, so he didn't have as much time to hang out with me, but sometimes they let me help if I promise to be real careful. They finished that about two weeks ago, though."

Havoc nodded. "What about Beth and Elysia?"

"They're always busy doing girl stuff, so I like being with Uncle Roy better," the boy confessed, munching on another handful quietly. "Aunt Riza's alright, for a girl, but she's more like a parent than a friend most of the time."

The chair-confined man laughed. "Well, she is raising you."

The boy gave a soft chuckle of his own. "Yeah, I know. Her and Uncle Roy try really hard, even if they aren't married or even live together; they still do a lot of parent stuff."

"Oh really?" Havoc raised his brows in interest. "Like what?"

"Well, Uncle Roy always helps her put us to bed at night, and when she cooks he always does the dishes and sides with her whenever she puts her foot down about something. Like climbing on the shed, even if he did say he used to do the same thing as a kid. He always opens the door for her, pays when we go out to eat, and helps me with my math and alchemy a lot. And they always talk about the future, money, and me and Beth."

"I see. Anything they've been talking about in particular lately?"

There was a slight pause, and then. "Yeah, Beth wants Aunt Riza to adopt us, and she said she can't right now. Beth's taking it not so good, and I think Aunt Riza's not sleeping because of it. She's always up when I come downstairs at night, and she's been keeping the lights on a lot later than usual."

It took a moment to reply, and Havoc ran a hand over his face as he did. "Wow, that's rough."

Zeke nodded, suddenly looking a lot older than he had before as his shoulders sank with an unseen weight. "Yeah, it is."

-0i0-

The first explosion was heard halfway through lunch, Riza and Roy sharing the leftover chicken and rice from the night before with a chessboard between them in his office. The call came moments later, all units were put into immediate active service and were to report to their assigned station after they were suited up. All of the upper brass were called into an emergency meeting, and what Roy heard there as his men prepared to fight brought many perilously close to thoughts of the Ishabalan war.

Both of the buildings the military had refurbished for the Ishabalan refugees were attacked, one of them entirely in flames already that the fire squads were fighting to control, and the other building had one corner collapsed while the insurgents fought inside. There were hostages that had been taken; all of them Ishabalans living there in the apartment complex, and number dead was growing by the hour.

Havoc, as a non-commissioned officer, was left behind to help the Communications team. Swearing to keep the kids and Gracia updated with what was going on, he also said he'd be pissed as hell if none of them came back and they'd better kick whoever it was in the balls for him.

Roy's team was sent to the front of the lines under the supervision of General Denton, and the Flame Alchemist himself assigned to the make shift headquarters to help Denton keep track of the enemy and their forces. Riza was put in charge of the snipers on the rooftops, a twenty man team over four rooftops besides herself made up of the best shots the military had, including Kants. Their objective: to shoot any terrorist stupid enough to be seen from the windows. Breda, Ross, Brosh, and Falman were quickly put into a squad with several privates and corporals to lead into the building and Fuery was designated as their communications person. Their objective was to establish a communications base within the building itself after securing the front sector. Marshall stayed back, as Alchemists were only used as a last resort and his actual use of alchemy wasn't much good in battle. He was put to work organizing the aides that rushed back and forth between the units and the command center, and seemed to do a fairly good job of it too.

"So, what's the situation?" asked Roy when he arrived in the tent, General Denton already there watching the red and blue markers that were being moved around the various ground plans of the three story building with a basement. Reports from inside continued to change the pattern, representing their forces and those against them.

"Our terrorists are trained military men, who are intimately familiar with our own way of handling a situation like this," Denton said as his eyes continued to trace the movements on the paper. "The chemicals used to set fire to the other building are the same we use in our own battle situations."

"Ex-military men?"

"We had many leave the armed forces in protest when the governmental power was taken from the Fuhrer," Denton reminded him steadily. "And even more after peace was declared with Ishabal a short while later. This latest move by parliament, giving their people Armetris citizenship and encouraging them to join our nation as equals, seems to have sparked a violent streak among our protestors."

"This place is a warren of small rooms and hallways," the Brigadier General grumbled as he eyed the ground plans, the pattern of blue and red shifting once again. "How have they gotten behind us here and here?" He motioned to two areas where the red dots were inside the blue.

"Air vents. The building used to be a storage facility, so the ventilation system is larger than usual to keep the damp and such out. Twice they have come through the vents into areas already cleared, and the men are in the process now of setting traps on the other vents should they attempt to do so again."

"Sir, we have another report from inside, they found another group of bodies here." The Lieutenant pointed to an area on the second floor. "All men and boys, none under the age of ten, sir."

"How did they die?"

The man hesitated before he replied reluctantly. "They were hung, sir, using strips of one of their holy banners."

"Dammit!" The General stared at the building with an intensity that surprised the Brigadier General beside him. "Call Head Quarters, we need more men!"

-0i0-

"What's wrong, Zeke, you don't like my meatloaf?"

The boy weakly matched Gracia's smile and shook his head, putting his fork down by his untouched plate. "I'm not hungry, sorry." The girls had already left the table, and were in the living room playing quietly with their dolls. Neither had been told the full extent of what was happening, only that Aunt Riza and Uncle Roy were going to have to stay late at work for some important business, but the aura of fear and suspense was dampening the mood none the less.

"They'll be fine," Gracia told him with a confidence that didn't quite reach her eyes, picking up his place and putting it in the fridge with a towel over it. "If you get hungry later, you let me know."

"Alright. Are you sure…?"

"Havoc will let us know the moment anything happens," she replied, giving him a reassuring pat on the back. "Why don't you go get your homework and bring it here. I'm not the best at math, but I can probably help you out if you get stuck."

Zeke obeyed, and set himself up at the kitchen table to start, but couldn't even get past the first page of problems. He just wanted the tension to be over, for the waiting to end. Even if it was bad news, just to get _some_ news…

"They'll be fine," Gracia repeated as she put her arms around the boy from behind, handing him a tissue when he scrubbed a hand over his eyes. "I promise."

Zeke cleared his throat and blew his nose before tossing the tissue in the trash. "I hope so."

-0i0-

Stalemate.

Noun.

Chess, a position of the pieces in which a player cannot move any piece except the king and cannot move the king without putting it in check.

Any position or situation in which no action can be taken or progress mad, deadlock.

To bring to a standstill.

Stalemates had never been something Roy had enjoyed. To be free, technically not lose, and yet unable to move for it would result in the immediate death of your most important piece. It was a very uncomfortable place to be. Like having a gun to someone's head while they had one to yours and each of you with only one shot a piece. A very uncomfortable place to be.

Things had been that way for over five hours, and it had taken three hours before that to clear the insurgents out of the top three floors.

The terrorists were now holed up in the basement, occasionally peaking their nose out from time to time to toss a grenade or two at the forces above but other than that entirely untouchable. Gas had already been tried, and the only ones affected were the hostages for they'd been smart enough to bring gas masks along. Explosives were too dangerous, there were hostages in the basement as well, and the only entrance to the basement itself was one staircase that offered no protection to those going down it. Since the ground floor itself was a foot below ground surface, a team of diggers had begun the process of getting enough of the basement wall cleared away to alchemize a way through, but the ground was densely packed clay and little progress had been made since they'd started over an hour ago.

"Go get some food," the General said as he returned from his own short break. "Some of your men are there already, and you haven't eaten since this whole thing began."

"Yessir."

His stomach rumbling happily that it would be filled soon, the Brigadier General was given a plate with something hot on it at the food tent a good ways out from the front itself and a place to sit at a table.

Hawkeye joined him a moment later, eating in the same mechanical fashion as Marshall sat across from them with a mug that smelled strongly of coffee.

"No change, sir?" he asked, looking as tired as both of them felt.

"No change," the Alchemist replied heavily. "Can't go forward, can't go back, and there's at least another two hours before the tunnel is finished. Maybe more."

"All but four of the snipers have been brought down and put into other squads," Riza said after commenting that she was supposed to join them in the command center after her meal. "There's only two entrances to the outside, both are heavily guarded, and the enemy has withdrawn to the basement where we're can't reach them. There was no reason for all of us to still be on the roof."

"I'll be glad to have you at my back again," Roy said as they finished at the same time, Marshall offering to take their plates for them before they headed for the command area. "Was there much success up top?"

"No, they learned after we caught a few of them near the windows."

"I hate it when the enemy has a brain."

Another hour passed, the excavation to get to the basement wall almost halfway completed and Denton pacing angrily when reports of a suicide bomber running up the stairs and managing to take out part of their defenses came in. Mumbling curses under his breath, he declared if they let a second one past them he'd take whoever was in charge there and strip them of their rank for incompetence.

Roy continued to study the ground plans to distract himself when a second report came in, this time over the communications unit.

"Emergency! This is Private Trenton at the Communications Center, they've blown through the traps in the vents, and cut us off from the rest of the force. Three are dead, the Sergeant Major in charge is critically wounded and needs immediate medial attention, we're under heavy fire and our ammunition is low…"

Roy's head snapped up as the list continued. "Fuery!"

"We can't move the people already inside, if we give up the staircase they can take back part of the ground floor, most of the outside fore is concentrated by the tunnel so they can punch through when its finished…" The General paused, then turned to Marshall standing in the doorway. "You, get twenty men ready to go in now from the reserves. Who's next in line in the chain of command to lead?"

"General Denton, that won't be necessary, I'll be going in now," Roy said suddenly, straightening up at the waist as two more of his subordinates were listed among the injured. "Marshall, make sure Kants included."

"They won't be happy if you don't come back," the General commented as Roy brought out his gloves and pulled them on firmly.

"I won't be happy if I lose some of my best to trash like this," he replied flatly. The sound of a gun being cocked brought their attention to Riza, who was arming herself just outside the entryway.

"Don't even try it, sir," she stated the moment he caught her eye, giving him a flat look. "If I stay, so do you."

"Then let's go."

"We'll go in from the basement the moment it's clear, good luck," General Denton said as they prepared to leave, a somewhat amused look on his face. "Try not to get killed. Alchemists are hard to come by."

"I'll do my best, sir."

The inside of the building was smoky and dimly lit, the electricity cut off long ago and only the lamps the military had placed at even intervals providing any light. Kants and Riza led the group, Roy right behind them as the nineteen others brought up the rear. Left at the first intersection, then an immediate right. Roy's mental image of the ground plan kept them on course, and so focused was he on remembering which hallway went where that he didn't see the next of gunners until they were almost on top of them. Luckily, the Hawk's eye missed nothing.

Roy felt a strong hand seize his collar and jerk him behind the edge of the corner as the first bullets flew past, Riza shouting orders as they returned fire and he quickly collected himself once more.

"Please be more watchful, sir," she said as she calmly shot the rifle she'd brought along in spaced intervals. Instinctively he knew each bullet was meant for one person, and that's all that was needed to finish the job.

"How many?"

"Four left, they're laying low behind a couch they've dragged out in the hall."

"Guess it's my turn, then."

The Flame Alchemist stepped out, immediately lighting the couch on fire and as soon as the four leapt away from it extinguished their lives in a rush of flame as well. Quickly the squad reached the flaming furniture piece, Roy putting it out and the rest checking for any survivors. They were about continue down a corridor to the right, which would lead directly to where the Communication Center had been located when they were met with another nest of gunners and this time there was nowhere to hide.

Hawkeye jerked her superior officer behind her and shot off several rounds with one hand as the bullets when whizzing past. Two of their guys went down, and Roy snapped his fingers the moment he had his feet back under himself. The hallways exploded into flames, and after that there were no more gunshots.

Inside the large common room where the Communications should have been they found a nightmare of blazing guns and piled up bodies, at least twenty men using two of the three hallways that led from the large area as protection as they blasted the small group huddled behind the rubble from a partially collapsed wall and several expensive looking pieces of equipment.

Two blasts of flame later, and Riza had little to clean up with Kants and the rest, easily putting down the last few who managed to avoid the initial attack.

"Report," Roy barked as those huddled behind the machinery came out, Falman limping heavily on one let and Breda with blood dripping from a gash in his head. Fuery was carried out on a litter by four others, his face pale as the red spot continued to grow through the clean white pad on his chest and leg. Two others were carried out with similar injuries.

"Seven dead, three critically wounded, only two of us made it out without losing some blood," Ross said as she came to a salute with a beat up but whole Brosh behind her, her uniform coat ripped to shreds but her skin fully intact.

"Knives?" asked Hawkeye as the Brigadier General arranged for the three to be safely transported out of the building.

"Knives," Ross confirmed with a smirk. "They were quick, but I was quicker."

"Good."

"We're joining the force by the basement entryway," the Flame Alchemist said as he rejoined them, Falman being sent with those who were carried because he could barely walk and Breda only staying because his gash was just a shallow scrape along his scalp. "They're breaking through in ten minutes, we're to provide a distraction at the other and, and protect the hostages if we can. Let's move."

The next half hour went by in a flash, the troop storming the stairs with the rest of those stationed above as the force down below broke through the wall and swarmed in through the breach. Mustang snapped his flames right and left, Riza pulled her trigger repeatedly, Ross managed to thread her way through to the hostages themselves and begin to cut the ropes that bound them fast. Breda and Kants helped protect the refugees as they ran for the exit, up the stairs and outside.

When it was finally over, the last of the terrorists rounded up or dead, Roy turned to his Lt. Colonel and sighed. "I hate killing people."

"Me too sir," she replied, pulling out one the bandage rolls they were required to carry at all times and starting to wrap it around her left upper arm. That was when he realized her coat sleeve was soaked in blood.

"Riza!"

"Just a graze sir," she replied, angling her body so it was out of sight. "Nothing to be concerned with."

"But-!"

"Brigadier General, they need you at the command center," a Major said as he came running up, giving a quick salute.

"I'll come by after I visit the med unit," Riza promised, giving him a salute before he left with a short nod.

"Ma'am, I think you need to talk to Marshall," Ross said as she walked up, her skin still intact though it now even looked worse for the wear. "He's looking rather green."

By the time Riza got to him, the Private was bent over a trashcan emptying his stomach, clutching the sides so hard his veins stood out.

"First kill?" she asked, handing him something to wipe his mouth with when he came up for air at long last.

"Never seen…so much blood…" he said between gasps, hawking with a grimace as he tried to rid his mouth of the taste. A glance around proved there were others in the same condition, and Riza wondered how much of their military would be unblooded before long in their peaceful times. She was glad of it, for it meant fewer had to die, but she was still aware of what it meant to have subordinates that had not seen a fresh dead body before. Especially one of their doing. "So much death…"

"Drink," she said, putting her water bottle in his hands. He obeyed, and slowly his shaking stopped and his breathing slowed.

"I never thought it would be like that," he sighed when he handed it back with a nod of thanks. "It was like I was a machine, I wanted to stop, but I just kept shooting and shooting again and again…even after we stopped and waited, I felt like I wasn't even in my own body until after they called for us to stop and the sweeps were finished to check if anyone among the dead really wasn't."

"Can you live with it?" she asked quietly, turning her eyes away as he wiped his mouth one more time. "Taking lives for the good of the people."

"I don't know," he admitted, his voice taking on a slightly hysterical tone. "For people I don't even know…how do you do it?"

"I only kill to protect that which is most important to me," she replied before walking away. "And that's the only reason I'm still human."

-0i0-

"Excellent job, Mustang," General Denton said as the man entered the tent. "A very neatly done job, from what I heard. I need a report, though, along with any particulars you can remember from the fight about the enemy. We've got a few that we've managed to capture, however two of the ten had suicide capsules hidden in their mouths, and the rest aren't being very helpful at the moment."

"I'll tell you what I can, sir."

"Good, begin."

-0i0-

Riza waited patiently as the medic wrapped the last of the gauze over her arm and taped it down securely. She had also taken a graze along her right hip, but the bullet had barely gotten through the fabric and the mark on her skin hardly bled at all. Pulling her coat back on as she was pronounced good, a nervous Breda breathed a sigh of relief behind her.

"The Brigadier General is still in debriefing," he said as the medic moved on to the next person, his own head wrapped in a layer of gauze for his gash. Riza reattached her many firearms with a nod. "He's already dismissed Kants, Brosh and Falman, Fuery's been transported to the local hospital and is stable, and we have the day off tomorrow."

"Good. Go ahead home and get some rest," she said, heading for the designated tent. "Goodnight, Breda."

"Goodnight, Hawkeye."

Her arm ached fiercely, but she had dealt with worse and pushed it out of her mind as she joined the others by the front.

"You should go home," a familiar voice said, the Lt. Colonel glancing down to find Havoc parked beside her. "I'll stick around and make sure he makes it home."

"It's my job," she pointed out, adjusting her uniform as she did. The coat was unsalvageable, but she might be able to fix the tear in the pants. "And you can't drive. How did you get here in the first place?"

"Rode over with the relief team after I called Gracia to tell her you were fine," he replied with a tired grin. "And she can drive me home, she already said she would wait with me." Hawkeye followed the Lt.'s gaze to where Maria Ross was hurrying towards them. Exchanging glances with the now-smiling Lieutenant, she gave a small snort and shook her head.

"When did you give up on Sheska?"

"Before summer, it just got too hard. She needs a bookworm, and that I am not. Think she'd say yes if I asked her out?"

"Maybe. Legal or not, I don't want to see any of it in the office, alright?"

"Yeah, alright. So are you leaving it to us or not? The kids are probably worried sick…"

Hawkeye's face fell as though he'd hit upon a sensitive area, and slowly she nodded her ascent. "You're…probably right. You will be sure to inform him of why I left early?"

"I'm sure he'll understand."

"Alright. Goodnight, Lieutenant."

"Goodnight, Lt. Colonel."

Havoc immediately greeting Ross, who admitted she was impressed that he managed to get the Lt. Colonel to leave before the Brigadier General was out of his meeting.

"You just gotta know which leverage to use," he replied, wondering when it would be a good time to ask as they began to discuss the battle. They were interrupted in a short debate about whether knives or guns were better in close spaces when people began to emerge from the tent, giving the Brigadier General a ragged salute as the man's eyes passed right over them in quest for someone else.

"She left, sir," Havoc said, bring his superior's roving eyes to heel. "Home to the kids. I told her I would watch for you."

"How long ago?"

Havoc checked his watch. "Twenty, twenty five minutes at the most."

"Go home, Havoc, Ross. Be back in the office day after tomorrow."

"Going home, sir?"

Roy traded looks with Jean. "Yeah, something like that."

-0i0-

Gracia dozed in the couch, a single lamp to her right dimly lighting the living room. Elysia slept with Beth upstairs, Zeke in his own bed and Black Hayate laying across the threshold of the front door. The phone sat immediately to her right, she'd answered it on the first ring when Havoc had called to say everyone was safe. Banged up, perhaps, but safe. The clock on the mantel chimed the second hour as the dog suddenly rose to his feet, the woman waking to the sound of the front door being unlocked.

A battered but breathing Riza appeared a moment later, reassuring the sleepy mutt who whimpered at her morosely with a gentle hand.

"Riza?" Graica whispered, sitting up on the couch.

"Yes," the gunwoman replied quietly. "I'm sorry it was so late, were the children…?"

"Worried, but well-behaved. Beth will probably have a lot of questions; we didn't explain what was happening to her. Are you alright?"

"A graze," Riza replied, putting a hand over her wound lightly. "Nothing more."

"Well, I'm glad you made it back safely."

"Aunt Riza, is that you?"

Both women looked up to see Zeke descending the stairs in his pajamas, looking rather awake as he padded towards them.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked as Gracia helped her out of her coat, his eyes immediately going to the bandage on her arm. "I'm fine, it hardly even hurts."

"I've been awake for awhile," he admitted with a sleepy grin as he stopped in front of her. "Wanted to make sure you got back…"

"I'm here," she replied, running one hand through his hair affectionately. "Gracia, why don't you go on to bed? I'll just tuck him in, get a quick shower, then go to sleep myself. Thank you for watching them for me."

"Anytime," Gracia replied, yawning as she slipped through the door to her half of the duplex.

"Is Uncle Roy alright?" the boy asked as she shed her boots before escorting him upstairs, careful not to wipe the dust and dirt that covered her on anything.

"He's fine," she replied. "He had to stay awhile longer, to give his report. Havoc and Ross stayed to make sure he made it home alright."

"That's good."

"Sleep well," she said as she drew the cover up to his chin, her hands thankfully clean from visiting the med unit. A light kiss was brushed against his forehead, and he smiled.

"Goodnight," he murmured back, soon lost in his dreams once again.

Downstairs she stood in her shower for ten minutes just letting the water wash away the filth from the battle, changing the bandage once she was out and throwing on her loose pants and an old shirt when her usual button up top proved to be in the dirty laundry basket. Funny how terrorists tended to make you forget things like washing clothes.

About to fall into her own bed, she was stopped by a hesitant knocking at the front door and Hayate whimpering before it. Coming into the main room, she switched on a single lamp and checked the peephole, seeing her superior officer standing there still in his uniform and as dirty as before.

"Why didn't you go home?" she asked as she opened the door, her hair hanging wetly down her back. "You're exhausted."

"I just had to make sure you were alright," he replied, stepping inside when she moved out of the way. "I was worried…"

"It's just a graze," she replied, pulling up her sleeve to prove her point. He reached towards her face as though to make sure she was real, and she leaned into his touch briefly and brought up a hand of her own. Giving his hand a brief squeeze, she let go and moved out of reach once more. "You look terrible."

"I feel pretty terrible," he admitted, rubbing a hand over his eye for a few moments. When he looked at her again, she had a towel in her hands.

"Go shower," she said, nodding at the downstairs bathroom. "I'll put some blankets on the couch for you."

"I shouldn't…but thanks."

It only took a few minutes to get the dust from his hair and the sweat from his body, coming back out in his undershirt and boxers to find the couch set up with a pillow and blankets as promised. Turning off the single lamp she'd left on, he laid down and remembered nothing more until the next day.

-0i0-

"Do you think she's awake?"

"I dunno, she never sleeps this long."

"She did get in pretty late last night."

Riza barely cracked her eyes open, distantly registering the quiet voices as two pairs of footsteps edged towards her bed. On her side facing the wall she could not see the intruders, but she had a pretty good guess of who it was. There was a soft squeak as something small crawled up beside her pillow and leaned over her shoulder to peer at her with inquisitive red-brown eyes.

"Aunt Riza, are you awake?"

"Morning Beth," she replied, scooting so she was on her back and smiling as the little girl attached herself to her neck. There was a moment where she had to bite her lip because the little girl unknowingly pressed against the graze, but she shifted the small body with her other arm and sat up in her bed.

Zeke stood about a foot back looking guilty and a little embarrassed.

"Sorry," he said when she caught his eye. "She wanted to say goodbye, I wasn't sure you'd wanna be woken up."

"It's alright," Riza said as she let the little girl curl up in her lap. "I'm sorry I wasn't there yesterday."

"I was afraid you wouldn't come back for awhile, then Gracia told me you always come back, and Elysia spent the night with me, so I wasn't scared," the little girl replied with a grin small. "Are you gonna be home today?"

"Yes, I should be here all day today, even when you get home from school."

"Yay!"

"Beth, Zeke, breakfast is ready," Gracia said as she stuck her head in the bedroom door. "Riza, Roy's still asleep on the couch. I left some pants and a shirt for him beside the couch, and threw his uniform in the wash with yours. And yes, I took off the braids and badges; those are on the kitchen table. I think you're going to have to throw the coat out."

"I know," Riza replied with a shrug, mind wandering off to what Roy could possibly be wearing if his uniform wasn't on him. Jerking herself back to the present, she added, "I have two spares in the closet. Thank you."

"Bye, Aunt Riza," Beth said as she kissed her guardian on the cheek before jumping from the bed and looking at Zeke expectantly.

"Bye," he said, ducking his head as he gave her a kiss on the cheek as well. "Thanks for…coming home."

"Thank you for waiting for me," she replied, waving as they left with Gracia for the other duplex. "I'll see you both after school."

Changing into an old pair of uniform pants and shirt, she padded softly into to kitchen and began a cup of tea for herself. Not too long afterwards she heard someone shifting around in the living room, and after chastising herself for wondering if it would be ok to wander in before he put the pants and shirt on she the had to chastise herself again for wondering if he wouldn't see them and would come in the kitchen without them on at all.

By the time she had finished, he was peering in at her wearing a shirt and sweatpants that were just a little too small (she buried the slight disappointment that he was fully clothed) and giving her a sleepy smile.

"Maes'?" he asked, motioning to the shirt with a bright print on it.

"Probably, Gracia brought it over for you," she replied. "Do you want something to drink?"

He gently fingered the hem reflectively. "It looks like something he would have worn. Just some water, please."

She got him a glass from the tap, setting it on the table before she took a seat. He took the hint and sat across from her, swallowing the cool liquid down slowly.

"Did you get hit last night because I couldn't see the gunners in my blind spot?" he asked after a long while, the woman across from him pausing as she brought her mug up to her lips. "Because you had to put yourself between me and them twice?"

"Sir, that's my job," she replied, somewhat surprised. He had never asked her questions like this before. "I watch your back, without hesitation or regret."

"I see."

Both were interrupted by the buzz of Riza's washing machine, the woman getting up and hanging up the clothes on the line in the back. When she'd returned Roy was making her eggs and pancakes, so quietly the two of them shared breakfast. Once his uniform was dry enough to wear home two chess games and an hour's worth of small talk later, Roy changed clothes and left, citing he needed to report back to Head Quarters to finish up from the night before and that he had a few things to do at home. He would see her Thursday at the office; he hoped she had a pleasant day until then.

If the Brigadier General seemed more solemn than usual, she wrote it off as the effects from the day before. And while company would have been nice, it was also pleasant to have a day of solitude as she for once didn't even touch her guns and instead finished cleaning the house and did part of the laundry for Beth and Zeke as well as herself. Tomorrow she would have to return to work, and for today she planned on enjoying the quiet to the fullest extent.

-0i0-

Fuery lay still on the hospital bed; the monitors around him beeping steadily as his chest slowly rose and fell. He'd been taken out of the ICU some time before and transported to a private room with a nurse assigned to watch him constantly. She actually stood behind Roy a little ways, watching as he gently called his subordinate's name.

Dark eyes opened slowly, strangely darker as the face was far paler than usual.

"Sir?" he asked in a half-whisper.

"How're you feeling?" the Brigadier General asked as he slowly took a seat.

"M'alright, they've got me on some pretty heavy stuff."

"Good. You just take it easy and get some rest, alright? We'll manage without you until you're back on your feet."

"Be back as soon as I can, sir."

"I know you will, soldier. We're all very proud of you, and very glad you're alright."

"Thank you, sir."

"I brought you something." Roy pulled out a book, the newly bound leather still soft as he put it in the Sergeant's lap. "It's a history on those tanks you used to build. I would have brought you a model to build, but I thought this might be easier until you're feeling a bit better."

"Thank you sir…I appreciate it…"

"I know you're tired, but I have a question for you…"

Fuery blinked in surprise as the query was made. His reply was a serial number in the military book of codes. When he asked why the Brigadier General wanted to know, the man shrugged and said it was a bit of personal investigation.

"Well, I better let you rest," he said as he sensed the nurse preparing to intervene behind him. "We'll send someone to check up on you later, and Havoc talked to your family last night. They're sending someone in to see you, but they didn't say who."

"Alright, sir. Have a god day."

"You too, rest up while you can."

"I will."

-0i0-

Well guys, I'm sorry this is a week late, but I do have a good excuse. I moved this last week and was rather busy packing and then unpacking and after I settled in the internet stopped working for a few days and I was forced to wait for it to work before I could post. I hope you forgive me, or at least review. I'll take just reviewing, actually, but you know how it is.

Here's the review replies, enjoy!

Yun Min : Thank you, glad you enjoyed it, and Royai all the way indeed! Thanks for the review, hope you do so again!

Rizalicious : Sorry for the long wait, and you'll find out why soon. Thanks for the review!

Cheeseycraziness : This was one of Zeke's moments to shine, and don't worry, things won't be this dark forever. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Causmicfire : Of course you wanna know what the paragraph said, and you will next chapter. I do have to say the scene between Roy and Riza in the kitchen is one of my favorite ever. And of course Zeke was checking, if he didn't who would? Hope the wait wasn't too long, and thanks for the review!

Dennisud : Well, the military doesn't have control over adoption, that's the government. And fraternization is just a military matter. And who's to say about the married person thing, I guess you'll find out later. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Free Hero : Wow, two reviews! Definitely a compliment. Hope to hear from you again, and thanks for the review!

Hawkeye Chuui : Sorry, this chapter's not much happier either. And the wait wasn't great, but thanks for the review! Hope you enjoyed it!

angelX20 : Roy and Riza will get together when the time is right, before then you'll just have to wait. Thanks for the review, though!

Momiji-k : Woot, the new chapters of FMA were great! Hope that held you over since it was a longer wait than usual. What can I say; dodging the details is one of my specialties. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Jacksparrow589 : Aww, sorry for making you cry. And don't hold your breath, but their troubles aren't quite over just yet. I hope you have that box of tissues, because you're going to need it very soon.

Kurissyma san Tybalt : Sorry for it being so sad, but I can't exactly help it. And marriage isn't on the horizon anytime soon so don't hold your breath. And sorry no one reads the one-shot, Leon Priss is a good couple in my book and more people should think so. Sorry for the long wait, and thanks for the review!

Bar-Ohki : Poor Riza is right, and it only gets right. Thanks for the review!

SxL : You'll find out eventually. Thanks for the review!

Crystal Mage : I believe dragging the kids into it is unforgivable as well. Speculation is one thing, outright damaging someone's reputation should never be done. You'll find out what the paragraph said eventually. And there will be fluff eventually as well, it'll just take awhile. Thanks for the review!

Bizzy : I hope your stomach doesn't hurt anymore, that's not cool. It was sad, and unfortunately the clouds will not part just yet but we're getting there. I promise. Sorry for the wait, and thanks for the review! About your PS, think of it this way. She doesn't want Roy out of her life, but for awhile there was probably nothing else she could imagine to do. Still, she has realized that isn't the best idea after all. And that's what's important. As to your PPS (or is it PSS?) You'll find out eventually. Just like everyone else.

Dailenna : Thanks for the compliment on the name, I'm rather fond of it myself. The slander was horrible, but somewhat expected given their relationship. And Zeke does have several qualities that would make him a good investigator. We shall wait and see! Roy is definitely in full father mode this chapter, and Riza does have a choice to make, but what is it? Thanks for the review!

Kai Isolated : Glad you liked it, and don't worry about it, I missed a week, you missed a review, we're even. The story only has another two or three chapters to go. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy25 : Aww, thanks! I love you guys too. Thanks for the awesome review and encouragement, can't wait to hear from you again!

Akane : Eh, sorry, Havoc and Sheska ain't happening no more. Hope you aren't too disappointed. Thanks for the review, though!

Ruki44 : You'll find out when everyone else does, be patient! Thanks for the review!

blaznXrapture : Hope you're enjoying the manga. They just released new chapters, so you'll have even more to read than before. I try and make the characters have layers upon layers upon layers, because otherwise each story is just a repeat of the one before. Hope the wait wasn't too long, thanks for the review!

Greyblue Angel : Sorry for the long update, it happens. And I read through as much as possible before I post, but I did say the last chapter was rushed to get it up on time. That happens occasionally too. Thanks for the review!

Humor Queen Merc : Lol, well, you'll find out eventually. Thanks for the review!

WingedChunsa : You'll find out eventually. Next chapter, everything will be explained. And yeah, this was definitely a good chapter to see another side of Riza. Thanks for the review!

Jennlyn78 : It was a rushed chapter, sorry about the mistakes. Thanks for the review, though!

FFVII : Of course they'd make a wonderful family, it just takes awhile for them to get to that point. And again, you'll find out about the paragraph in due time, you just have to be patient for a bit. Thanks for the wonderfully long review, hope to hear from you again!

Animelover2507 : Thank you, my friend, and welcome to the crew! Hope the wait wasn't long, it's usually only about a week for new chapters, and thanks for the many wonderful compliments. Hope to hear from you again!

Rizasfirstlove : Sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

OTP : Lol, Roy saves the day again, right? Thanks for the review!

That's it for this chapter, guys. Thanks for your awesome support as always, and see you again next week. It will be on time this time, promise!

CB

'Nobody plans to fail, but a lot of them fail to plan.'

-Anon.


	14. Chapter 14

On time update, just the way you like it! Thanks for your many reviews, here's the chapter as promised. Enjoy!

-0i0-

Riza looked a bit surprised as she peaked in to Fuery's room, a young woman perched beside his bed who also wore similar round glasses speaking with him quietly.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," she said when the pair caught sight of her and paused in their conversation.

Fuery shook his head, giving her a weak smile. "No, ma'am."

"Kate Fuery," the woman said as she extended her hand carefully. "I'm Kain's sister."

"Riza Hawkeye," the Lt. Colonel replied as she shook the hand firmly. "I work in the Brigadier General's unit along side your brother. How are you feeling, Fuery?"

"Better, ma'am," he said as a placed a hand on his chest. "I got lucky, the doctor said, real lucky."

"That's good," she replied with a faint smile. "We're glad."

"Havoc came by last night, he said you got hit too…"

"Just a graze," she replied with a frown. "Enough that I won't be sparring for awhile, but nothing more serious than that."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"I have to go, but it was a pleasure meeting your sister, and I hope you feel better."

"Thank you, ma'am. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Fuery, Miss Fuery."

"Good day, Miss Hawkeye."

-0i0-

Roy came in fifteen minutes late, went directly to his office and shut himself inside on Thursday morning, Riza giving him a glance in passing to find him still more solemn that usual. The determined line in his jaw was something he reserved for when he was about to roast someone with his flames, the steely glint in his eyes for when someone's blood had to flow and it wasn't his.

Nobody heard from him until lunch, Hawkeye only leaving him alone because Havoc had to go in and get some papers signed and mentioned on his way out that the boss was working through his papers like a demon.

"I wonder if he has a date tonight," he commented, giving Riza a sly look.

"I wouldn't know," she replied flatly, and he laughed and said he could take a hint. "He didn't say anything, did he?"

"Just that he needed to finish early," Havoc replied with a shrug. "I'm going to drop these file copies off in the mail room for Eastern, you got anything you need sent out?"

"Not right now, thank you."

"Alright."

Riza was just completing a particularly complex report involving some investigation Marshall and Brosh had carried out at one of the outer posts when Roy appeared beside her desk, his hands in his pockets.

"Lt. Colonel, can I have a word with you?"

The sharpshooter nodded, and waited for him to start speaking.

"In my office, if you don't mind."

Riza actually looked up in surprise. "Sir?"

"Please, Lt. Colonel."

Hawkeye obeyed, and leaving the report open on her desk entered the office as the Brigadier General closed the door behind them.

"Please have a seat, Riza."

"What is this about, sir?" she asked as she did so, watching him take his seat as well behind the large and imposing desk. The furniture did not impress her, but the man behind it always had.

"Something has come to my attention, recently," he said solemnly, picking up a stack of papers and he did so. "I'm not quite sure how to approach this, so perhaps being direct is the best approach. Riza, have you considered retiring from the military? From being a commissioned officer, I mean."

The Lt. Colonel stiffened as though she had just been impaled on a stake of cold iron. "Sir?"

"I did a little bit of research yesterday," he went on, pulling out a paper from among the sheaf. "Chapter V of the Military Articles, subheading C, paragraph 4, dealing with the rights of women in the military. No mother or adopted mother is allowed to be on active duty, because of the ramifications of their death in their children's lives until said children are more than eighteen years of age, providing the mother is still under the age of forty and still able to perform the necessary maneuvers according to standard procedure…"

"What is your point, sir?" Riza broke in coldly.

"You lied to them," he said, putting the paper back down as he refused to meet her gaze. "You lied to them so you could continue to protect my back."

"It's my job, my mission," she replied flatly. "You have entrusted me with your back, just as I once trusted you with mine."

"I'm not as important as those two; my well being shouldn't be placed above theirs. You should have resigned that position, given it over to someone who doesn't have your responsibilities…"

"And who would watch your back?!" she demanded, taking a breath before she continued at her normal speaking level. "Sir, I have watched your back for almost ten years. I have never failed to protect you when it was within my means, put your life before mine countless times, and have only lost hope twice when I thought you were dead. I have faithfully supported you through your campaign, followed your orders to the letter even when I didn't agree with them, pushed you to the top when you couldn't push yourself, kept your men together when you voluntarily left them on their own for two years, I have done everything in my power to make your dreams come true…"

"That doesn't change the fact that you lied to the children," he cut her off shortly. "Kants has done very well under your tutelage, given time he would make a suitable replacement…"

Riza's head snapped as though he had dealt her a physical blow. "Then…I am replaceable, sir?"

The Brigadier General froze. "That's…that's not what I…"

"But that is what you said, sir." There was a moment of silence before Riza saluted sharply. "Thank you, sir, for making your position clear to me. Am I excused now?" She left before he could reply, heading into her office where she promptly pulled out a file from the bottom drawer and stuck it in her purse. Pulling out a second, she filled it out, signed it, and headed for the main room where the others were.

Havoc, about to wheel into her office and ask if the boss was alright, he'd been awful quiet all day, stopped when he saw the dead look on her face.

"Havoc," she said, handing the signed paper to him. "I know its short notice, but I'm taking the rest of today, tomorrow, and Monday off. Please hand this in for me. Also, we'll have to cancel for Friday. I've decided to surprise the kids and take them to the mountains, so we won't be home. If you would inform the Brigadier General of these developments, I would appreciate it."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, understanding immediately as he gave her a slow salute. "Travel safely, Lt. Colonel."

"Thank you, Havoc."

-0i0-

Roy was sitting completely still when the door to his office cracked open.

"Sir…?"

"Go away, Havoc," he said as he turned his chair away from the door, running a hand over his face.

"Sir, I think…"

"I said go away, Havoc."

"With all due respect, sir…"

"Dammit, I know I screwed up! Now leave!"

There was a silence, then, "As long as you know, sir."

"Havoc…wait…"

The wheelchair bound man paused, giving his superior officer a cool look. "What?"

"Bring me the rest of her paperwork. I'll finish it before I go home."

"Alright." The Lieutenant took the paperwork and handed it over. "She's taken time off, sir."

"I guessed that she would."

"Are you going after her, sir?"

Roy paused, before he shook his slowly. "I don't think she wants me to."

-0i0-

Beth and Zeke's teachers were more than a bit surprised when Riza showed up at lunch to pick up both of her charges, but when explaining the surprise she had planned for them and that she would help them make up all their homework upon their return the children were set free without complaint. Upon arriving at the house, it was just a matter of packing each of them a small bag, loading everything in the car, and leaving a note for Gracia to find her kitchen later on. The weekend vacation place the men had purchased her birthday present from was called, their reservation booked, and off they went to the mountains.

The drive would be close to three hours long. The train would have been a bit shorter, but when Riza explained that Hayate would have to ride in a crate in the back, and that they would have to walk everywhere they wanted to visit the kids agreed that driving would be much better. Books, snacks, drinks, and the radio were brought out or turned on and everyone settled in for the long drive. If Riza didn't say much, or her smile wasn't quite as genuine as usual, the kids were too excited to notice and Black Hayate took up most of their attention in the back seat anyways.

With one stop halfway through for gas and a potty break (humans and animal both being in need of one) the trip went by smoothly enough, and upon arriving were assigned a small cottage much like the rest, with a small garden that backed into the woods and had a nice view of the valley below. Out of the car they piled and into the small house they went, Beth and Riza sharing the double bed in the room while Zeke would have the folding bed out of the couch. The kitchen was fairly well set up with plates and cookware, so to the local grocery store they went and picked up enough food to last them for the few days they would be there.

Dinner was chicken baked with cheese and tomatoes, a family favorite, with rolls and steamed veggies on the side. They ate together at the table, Zeke complaining only once that he wished Roy could have come along and Riza reminding him that the Brigadier General was a busy man and could hardly take so much time off on short notice. Black Hayate seemed to bark in agreement and happily explored their new home after Riza showed him where he could do his business outside.

Cleaning up and helping Zeke set up the bed he would sleep on that night, they then pulled out the brochures for the local sights and sprawled on the freshly made bed together with Black Hayate playing with anyone who would pay attention to them. There were trails they could hike, horses they could ride, there were two or three historical landmarks that might be interesting, like a field where a famous battle had been fought and other interests like a plantation that showed how maple syrup was collected and refined into the bottled substance that was sold in stores.

It took the better part of two hours for them to plan out exactly what they wanted to do, although it was more like what Beth and Zeke could agree on doing because Riza honestly didn't care as long as they were together. After that there was a small bowl of ice cream and strawberries for each of them, except the dog of course, and then it was to bed.

Beth snuggled up in Riza's arms while Zeke claimed Black Hayate to keep him company outside. The house was quiet, the children given over to pleasant dreams, but Riza just stared at the ceiling and prayed for the morning to come.

-0i0-

"Sir, don't you think you should be heading home?" asked Kants carefully as he paused outside his superior's office door, the rest of the group having headed home already. His own practice hours were strange, and he had stopped by to make sure he had all his filing finished before he headed home for the night. Winry would be arriving the next day for her next two-week stay and he wanted to be sure he was well-rested.

"I just have a few more things to finish," the Alchemist replied, not even bothering to look up from the paper he was signing. "Go home, Kants."

"Yessir."

Pausing at Ross's desk, he scribbled a note and left for the night, hoping his intuition was wrong and yet instinctively knowing it probably wasn't.

When Maria arrived the next morning, the first person there with the Lt. Colonel gone from the office, she picked up the note and immediately headed for the Brigadier General's office. Inside she found her superior office asleep at his desk, deep rings under his eyes and stacks of finished paperwork surrounding him on all sides. Carefully, so as to not wake the man who was a notoriously light sleeper, she carried all the paperwork to the main room where it could be filed before pulling out one of the spare blankets from the closet and settling it over the sleeping man's shoulders.

Havoc found her sorting through the paperwork a little while later, growling a few crude oaths under his breath when he peeked in at the snoozing man.

"She's the only one who can snap him out of it when he's like this," he grumbled once he was back in the main room. "Damn it…"

"He's the reason she left," Ross commented as she paused in her work.

"And her leaving is why he's like this," Havoc finished with a snort. "Now I really wish we had locked them in a closet months ago and not let them out until they worked it all out."

"She would shoot anyone who tried," Maria pointed out with an amused look.

"And he would roast whatever was left," he added lightly. "But at least we wouldn't be dealing with this headache. Go get me a copy of the days of leave form; we need to get it filled out before he wakes up. Falman."

The tall man paused in the doorway, still rubbing traces of sleep from his face. "Hm?"

"Go get me a train ticket, around this evening, heading to the mountains."

"Yessir. Military business?"

"Close enough. Call Breda, he probably hasn't left yet and I need him to make a stop along the way."

-0i0-

Zeke woke up at the crack of dawn, sliding out of his bed and letting Black Hayate out for a bit before he walked into the room Beth and Riza shared to wake them as well. The prospect wasn't as scary as it would have been had he been walking into Riza's actual room, and since Beth was there he figured he was safe from a gruesome and terrifying death.

"Aunt Riza," he said as he plopped down beside them on the bed. "Wake up, I'm hungry."

"Zeke, what are you doing awake?" she mumbled as she cracked one eye open blearily and read the clock that said a quarter past six. "The trails don't open for hikers until eight."

"I'm hungry," he repeated, his stomach growling emphatically. "Besides, we're on vacation; you're not supposed to sleep in on vacation."

"Really?" Riza gave an amused chuckle as her eyes closed once more. "Who told you that?"

"Nobody, I thought of it myself."

"Go let Hayate in," she sighed as she heard something scratch at the back door. "I'll get up in a minute."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise. Go get dressed after you let him in."

"Alright."

By the time Zeke had finished pulling on his clean shirt and pants, Riza had roused herself enough to get some eggs and sausage started on the stove top with French toast beside it. Beth stayed in bed, curled up in the warm indentation Riza's body had once occupied, until Zeke carried her to the table when the food was ready, but even with a hot plate of deliciousness and some orange juice in front of her it was awhile before the little girl really woke up enough to enjoy the meal.

The dog stayed under the table, not whining a bit even with the tantalizing smells coming from over head, and Riza was sure to leave out a bowl for him before sitting down to eat herself. Together they ate, comfortable in the silence that surrounded them until Zeke gulped down the last of his juice and bolted from the table to pull on his tennis shoes and go sit by the front door.

"I'm ready!"

"Did you brush your teeth?" asked Riza, not even bothering to get up from her seat quite yet. The park wouldn't open for another hour or more, there was no reason to hurry along just yet.

"Drat."

He hurried back, the sound of running water coming from the bathroom for a couple of minutes, along with the sound of something hitting the frame of the door loudly and the muffled grunt of pain that followed. A moment later Zeke appeared, rubbing his head carefully as a lump that hadn't been there previously began to form. "Ok, now I'm ready!"

"Did you remember to make your bed?" asked Riza as she slowly finished the last of her tea, Beth watching with an amused smile as Zeke rolled his eyes as went to the couch, leaving the sheets on the fold away bed but removing the blankets and folding the blankets as quickly as he could without doing a sloppy job. Carrying them to the left side of the couch, where they'd been stashed originally, he forgot the bed was still down and banged his shin against the edge of the metal frame.

Yelping as he jumped around on one foot, the blankets were dropped to the side as he grabbed for his shin and held it in an attempt to sooth the pain. By the time he regained control of himself, the blankets were once again in disarray and he had to refold them once again, this time taking care to stay away from edge of the metal frame. That didn't stop him from pinching his finger when he then began to the task of refolding the bed into the couch, but Riza just watched from the kitchen where she began to wash off the breakfast dishes in the sink.

"Ok," he called when the last couch cushion was in place. "I'm-"

"Will you fill Hayate's bowl with fresh water? He's out."

Sighing, the boy did as he was bid, in his carelessness dropping the bowl on his foot, which made him yelp again. Beth chuckled from the bedroom where she and Riza were getting dressed, the two of them emerging in their pants and shirts with shoes on to find Zeke sitting on the floor nursing his poor toe.

"We're ready to go," Riza said teasingly. "Are you?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

-0i0-

The four of them piled out of the car, Black Hayate submitting to his leash as the rules required he be on one at all times and Zeke holding on to it faithfully as they left the parking lot for the local trails. Checking in at the front building, they picked up a map and choose an easy route along the edge of the lake to start with. Less than a mile long, it was fairly easy with only the occasional slight rise up or down as it wound around the shoreline.

Beth trooped along merrily, Zeke and Black Hayate running in front and then running back to report what was coming up before running in front once more. Their pace was slow, but there was a great deal to see with the stunning view of the mountains in the background and the many forms of plant life surrounding them. Huge pine trees several stories high towered overhead, and occasionally another hiker or group of hikers would pass them on the trail.

Zeke paused to rest on a boulder as Beth and Riza still trailed a bit behind, Black Hayate lying obediently beside him as he panted slightly. The day was relatively warm for fall, but in the shade of the forest with a slight breeze it was easy to stay cool and he wasn't sorry he'd worn his longer pants in the least.

Getting out of school for two whole days, not having to share Beth or Riza with anyone else, spending the weekend in a cool little cottage, and Black Hayate coming along, it was all great. It only got better as the day went on, Beth was hungry and Zeke getting there after they finished a second trail that strolled through the woods for about another mile. The trail park didn't sell food, but there was a small settlement not five minutes away, and there they feasted on freshly grilled hamburgers, home made fries and cookies still warm from the oven for dessert.

Beth wanted to ride in one of the pony carts that took you on a tour along the local river bed, so Riza got them tickets and together rode in the back of the cart while the driver told them the history of the area for their two hour ride. Back in town they got off the cart, and Zeke noticed the sign for the fair that was going to be town that night. It only took a moment for Riza to agree to go, and so back to the cottage they went for a short time of rest before the evening festivities.

There, Black Hayate and Beth sprawled on the couch asleep for awhile, and when Zeke asked Riza if she would play chess with him for awhile she agree and immediately helped him set up the board. She let him play white, since that was the side he always took against her grandfather, and in the time they rested three games were played, one a tie and then a win on both sides. When she told him she was very proud of him for having improved so much in such a short time he accused her of going easy on him. She laughed, and asked if he thought she really would. Grumbling, Zeke shrugged and muttered probably not but she was still really easy to beat for once.

To the fair they went that night, Black Hayate unfortunately left behind as dogs were not allowed, and the moment they reached the lane where the food was cooked and all the delicious smells assaulted their noses their stomachs growled as one.

"Gotta pick, what do I want," Zeke murmured as he looked from sign to glowing sign. "Ribs, no fried corn! Oh, they have sausage on a stick, and I really love those fries…"

Riza seemed to consider them for a moment, Beth drooling in the direction of the funnel cake sign. "Why not…a little bit of everything?"

"What?!" Zeke looked at her in surprise, blinking in amazement. "But you never let us have it all, you say it's not good for us."

"Well, I don't think it will hurt, just this once," she amended with a guilty smile. "Besides, I'm an onion rings fan myself, and those turkey legs are calling my name too."

And so they embarked on their quest, up and down the lane as they stopped at every vendor that caught their eye and ordered the smallest portion possible of whatever they were selling. Sausages, fries, turkey legs, fried pickles and onion rings, ice cream sodas, frozen slushies, candied apples, funnel cakes, ribs, roast pork, maple syrup candy, pop corn, they bough more food than they could ever possibly eat, but the attempt to consume it all was most rewarding. Or at least for Zeke and Beth it was, though Riza would have a bite of something occasionally, Zeke would swear she hardly ate anything at all.

Afterwards, nibbling on a bag of cotton candy, they came to rides, both of kids immediately mesmerized by the bright, flashing lights.

"What would you like to ride first?" asked Riza as she bought some tickets from the counter. "The Ferris wheel?"

"Yeah, let's ride that!" said Beth, and as they clambered aboard and reached the top, they weren't disappointed. The sun was setting over the mountains, the lights in the towns below just coming on and lighting up the country side with hundreds of little dots of light. Beth clung to Riza out of fear of the height, but the older woman just held her tightly against her chest and in the end it was a most enjoyable experience. To the merry-go-round they went next, then some of the faster rides that Zeke wanted to go on alone. Riza let him, and he spun and twirled himself until his stomach was about ready to pop and he actually began to look a little green around the gills.

Helping him walk off his dizzy head, they came to the games, and immediately the pair pointed to a large stuffed version of their favorite canine friend back at the cottage. Riza had laughed and let them both try to knock down the stacked milk bottles by themselves. Beth wasn't even close, but Zeke managed to knock off the top one once, and the second time almost clipped the bottom left corner. Riza then picked up the ball when they told her to try, and after studying the bottles for a minute aimed for the bottom two pitches to the left. It took two tries, but she managed to clear the stand in one hit much to the children's delight.

The man, obviously impressed, pulled down the large dog they pointed to and Zeke proudly carried it for the rest of the evening under his arm. Together they went through the other games, losing most of them but adding to their winnings with a gianormous teddy bear Beth fell in love with at a shooting game and after a lucky toss with a ring Zeke presented his two favorite females with matching gray tabby kittens with blue button eyes.

It was late when they finally went back to the car, Riza carrying a sleeping Beth while Zeke juggled their various winnings. With the stuffed animals and small girl in the back, Riza expected Zeke to drop off to sleep in the front on the way back and was surprised when the boy sat up straight and gave her a hard look.

"Something's not right," he said as he watched her drive, noticing the way her mouth pressed into a firm line and her eyes gave him a guarded glance. "You're being too nice."

"We're on vacation," she reminded him with the 'voice of logic' than only an adult would use. "The extra money spent is something that will not happen often, I suggest you enjoy it for the time that it lasts."

"Yeah, but you never let us have everything we want," he pointed out with a memory only children can possess. "Even at the beach, we out to eat a lot and stuff, but you always reminded us that there was only so much money to be spent."

"This is different," she pointed out slowly. "It's just us, and it's only for a few days."

"You're hiding something, too," he added, using his fingers as he went through his reasoning process. "This was thrown together at the last minute, and you never do that. The plan for the beach was checked, and double checked three or four times before it was even close to happening. This you made the reservations on the way out the door, took me and Beth out of school without prior warning, and you never smiled with your eyes the whole way up or most of today. You didn't begin to relax until we got up to the cottage, and it wasn't until halfway through today that you really paid attention to what we were doing. So, what happened?"

"I was going to wait until we were ready to head back to have this discussion," she said, eyes focused on the road as her shoulders sagged slightly in defeat.

"You're not getting rid of us, are you?" he asked softly, eyes focused on his hands as he tried very hard to keep the tears out of his voice. "You said you'd keep us forever…"

"I'm not getting rid of you," she promised, glancing over and putting a hand on his shoulder. Zeke scooted closer, letting her put an arm around him as they both stared out the front of the windshield. "I will never, ever get rid of you."

He sighed shakily, leaning against her as her solid warmth provided a comfort he couldn't describe. "Then what?"

"I've done something horrible to you, something you and your sister never deserved."

"When?" Zeke asked, honestly confused. "You've always been nice to us…"

"I lied to you."

"Adults always lie about something," he reasoned with a slight shrug. "Even teachers, they don't mean to but it's usually to hide something they feel we're not quite ready for yet."

"About the adoption policies."

The car was silent for a long time, Riza prepared herself for the explosion she was sure was about to come. When the boy didn't pull away and instead laced his hand with hers, she was stunned into a continued silence.

"It's because of Uncle Roy, isn't it?" he asked after a long while, the entrance of their staying place coming into view. "He's the only thing you care about more than us."

"I don't care about him more, just differently…"

"Well duh, it'd be weird if you cared about us the same."

Silence fell between them again, Riza glancing down at the boy who looked back up at her expectantly.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to let this wait for another time?" she sighed, pulling into their parking spot carefully.

"No."

"Go put the kettle on for tea; I'm going to carry Beth in. The rest can wait for tomorrow."

"Ok."

Beth was put in the bedroom, Black Hayate dutifully lying next to her as Riza tucked the small body underneath the covers. Back in the kitchen she found Zeke taking a whistling kettle off the stove and laying out a cup and a tea packet for her. Sitting with a cookie from the package Riza had brought along as a snack, he watched her expectantly as she prepared her hot drink. Sitting next to him, she cleared her throat and took a small sip with a sigh.

"So," she said after yet another awkward silence. "Do you remember when I went to find the information on adopting you both?"

"Yeah," he replied, scrubbing the crumbs from his mouth as he finished his cookie. "You said you couldn't because of some legal mumbo-jumbo."

"Well, I wasn't lying entirely," she admitted with a grimace. "There was a waiting period, but we were within weeks of qualifying, and the fees and paper work would not have been as much as I implied."

"Then what was it?"

"There is a law I was made aware of along the way," she replied carefully. "Chapter V of the Military Articles, subheading C, paragraph 4, dealing with the rights of women in the military. No mother or adopted mother is allowed to be on active duty, because of the ramifications of their possible death in their children's lives until said children are more than eighteen years of age."

"Active duty…that means if Uncle Roy had to fight, you couldn't fight with him, right?"

"Exactly."

"Aren't you supposed to protect him, though? He told me, once, you were the only person he would trust to watch his back."

"Yes, I am."

The silence was very heavy this time, and lasted several minutes. Riza slowly finished her tea and got up to put the mug in the sink. When she turned around Zeke had already gotten up and headed for the other room.

"Do you mind if I sleep with Beth?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"No," she said with an understanding nod. "Good night."

"Goodnight."

Riza took herself to the couch and turned off the lights, staring out the window over the star lit valley as she wondered if things would ever be the same again.

-0i0-

Roy thanked the bartender as the man poured him another whiskey, sipping the cool liquid as it burned a path down his throat to his stomach and settled there sullenly. He had been awakened by an all-too cheerful Havoc that afternoon, informed that he had a trip he had to make and was handed a train ticket, a packed bag of his clothes, and a fresh change that wasn't his uniform for him to wear on the train itself. Obeying more because he was too sleep-befuddled to do much else, the alchemist had changed and let himself be driven to the train station without comment.

His mission was some sort of check up on a local group he had once had contact with, Havoc had explained as he handed him a manila envelope that supposedly held all the details of what he was to do. The men knew him too well; he waited until he was on the train and halfway to his destination to open up the envelope and a find a note written in Havoc's thin scrawl.

_Have a nice trip, sir. Hawkeye and the kids are staying at the Alpine Lodge, cabin number 23. Your reservation there is in one of the small suites, number 14, your keys can be picked up at the front desk and you're not supposed to be back until Monday night. Don't worry, we've got things covered on this end. _

_Havoc_

The said cabin was less than twenty yards away if he walked out off the doors to his right, a car had pulled in less than two hours before, and the last lights had been recently turned off. What was he doing here? He couldn't fix things now, not like this…

Paying his bill, he got up and headed for his suite, a small three room affair with its own bathroom and a small sitting room with a desk. The bedroom had a queen sized bed, and as he laid himself down to sleep he hated how empty it felt.

-0i0-

Beth woke up unusually early, her poor little bladder protesting as she slid from the bed and went to use the bathroom that adjoined the small bedroom. Heading back to snuggle with Black Hayate for awhile, she started in surprise when she realized it was Zeke who had been lying on the other side of their furry friend.

"What're you doing in here?" she asked as her brother watched her with an unusually solemn face. "Where's Riza?"

"Riza said I could last night," he said by way of explanation. "She's probably on the couch. I got a question for you, Beth."

"What?"

"You know Riza protects Uncle Roy, right?" he said carefully, letting her move into his lap when she crawled up next to him.

"Yeah, that's why she's got all her guns'n'stuff."

"And you know she wants to make you happy by adopting us, right?"

"Yeah, that's why she went out and found out how."

"Yeah. Well…what if she had to choose between protecting Uncle Roy and adopting us? Like, we could live with her and stuff as long as we wanted, but if she adopted us she couldn't carry her guns anymore, or help out Uncle Roy when he got in trouble."

The little girl was quiet for a long time, her fingers fidgeting as they played with the edge of her blanket.

"Is that why she wouldn't?" she asked after awhile, looking up at her brother who nodded slowly. "That's…really hard…"

"I know."

"What would happen to Uncle Roy if…if she stopped protecting him?"

"I don't know," the boy admitted slowly. "Uncle Roy seems like he can take care of himself, but Aunt Riza doesn't practice all the time for nothing…"

The silence stretched on longer than before, the young blonde's fingers working themselves deeper in the folds of the blanket her brother had draped around her shoulders.

"I don't…"

Zeke waited patiently as he ran his hand along his sister's back, holding her all the tighter when she threw her arms about his chest.

"I don't want anything to happen to Uncle Roy," she said after several moments of heavy breathing, scrubbing the back of her hand over her eyes furiously. "He's a nice man, he's always there for us, but if she doesn't adopt us…!"

"Beth, Zeke, are you awake?"

The door opened slowly, a solemn Riza poking her head in to find the pair sitting on the bed.

"Zeke?" she asked quietly when Beth refused to look at her, the small child's eyes clouding with tears once again.

"I told her," he replied, setting his mouth in a firm line. "She should know."

"I was going to regardless," she replied with a sigh, sitting down a little ways away. "I suppose the real question now is if you two can forgive me."

Neither Zeke or Riza was quite sure how Beth managed it, but the small body launched itself across the bed and dragged her brother along, both of them falling into the sharp shooters lap. Burying herself into her guardian's chest, the young girl shook her head vigorously as the tears began to fall.

"No!" she cried, the word muffled as Zeke awkwardly tried to situate himself around her. "I'm not gonna forgive you 'cause there's nothing to forgive!"

"But…" Riza put her arms around the small girl as she pursed her lips. "I lied to you, Beth. I should never…"

"It's hard, choosing between things you love," Beth whispered as she pulled away and rubbed at her face with balled fists. "Very, very hard…"

"It's not my choice anymore," Riza replied as she pulled the young girl's chin up slowly. "Maybe this is just as unfair, but it's now up to you and Zeke. Whether I adopt you, whether I remove myself from active duty; that is now up to you."

"But why?" asked Zeke, clearly surprised.

"I can't be trusted to make a fair decision," Riza explained as though it were the only possible way. "I am biased, unable to put that which should be most important first."

"But we're just kids!" Zeke protested as Beth simply stared at the woman in silence. "We can't possibly…"

"You don't have to decide now," the Lt. Colonel added as she got up from the bed, bringing Beth wit her as the small girl was still attached to her body. "But, before we get home, I will have to have an answer from you."

Beth's stomach growled right then, and the sharp shooter seemed to give a dry chuckle.

"I made breakfast, we'd better go eat it before it gets too cold," she said with a finality that both children recognized. "We can talk about this more later, when you're ready."

Zeke watched as she left, running a hand through his hair as Black Hayate jumped up next to him and put his head on the boy's leg. "So she says," he grumbled as he scratched the dog behind the ear. "But I don't think I ever will be."

-0i0-

Hm, not the greatest ending yet. Guess you'll all have to wait for the next chapter to see how it ends. Mean? Perhaps, but it was either stop here or you'd be waiting an extra week for the update. That's the way it goes, folks.

Here's the review replies, thank you for your many, many wonderful comments, and please review, it makes your author's day!

Jacksparrow589 : Well, I'm glad you didn't cry during the previous chapter, but this one might have made you. If that's the case, sorry. Happier times are ahead, I promise! No more battles, either, so no more getting sick. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

SxL : It happens. Unfortunately, Roy doesn't do much better this chapter either. Thanks for the review!

-Kai Isolated- : Let me just say leaving the HP spoiler in the review: not cool. I didn't get to read the book until two days ago, and I spent the whole time wondering what was going to happen to Lupin. No Roy getting hurt, but someone had to and Fuery makes a good guinea pig. Thanks for the review!

Causmicfire : Yeah, Havoc is probably the one person who knows Roy and Riza better than anyone else besides each other. Of course Riza saved Roy, she always does. And I did the dialogue between her and Marshall because Marshall doesn't get a lot of story time, and it seemed appropriate (and ironic) that the one he fears is also the one who comforts. Thank you for the wonderful review, hope to hear from you again!

Jennlyn78 : Next chapter, right on time! Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

OTP : Now you know. Interesting investigation, ne? Thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy25 : I think has a hiccup or something because my chapter update and all the reviews didn't appear until some 12 hours after they'd been put up. Hopefully it won't happen again. The real Royai is still to come, so stay tuned for next week! Thanks for the review!

Cheesycraziness : That does seem appropriate. I think you found out about Mustang's question, if you were paying attention. I guess we'll never know about that slight disappointment, hm? Oh well, maybe next time. Thanks for the review!

Aindel S. Druida : More! Glad you enjoyed your morning because of the chapter, I hope this one was just as wonderful. Thanks for the review!

Dailenna : I think if there was a reward for most lengthy reviews, you would get it. And that makes me very, very happy. Gotta love midnight reads, they make the story that much better. Glad you enjoyed the action, sorry it's only in one chapter but this really isn't an action oriented story. Don't worry, Fuery will be fine, and I suppose now you know what Roy was asking about. Glad to know I'm forgiven, and thanks for the great review!

Yun Min : Glad you enjoyed it, we're on time this time, and thanks for the review!

Rizalicious : I was moving last time, however now that I'm unpacked things are back on schedule. Thanks for the review!

Humor Queen Merc : Awe, thank you! Keep up the good reviews!

GreyBlue Angel : Gees, will you people stop dropping hints about the Potter book! Someone of us didn't get to read it right away, and getting spoilers, even hinted ones, is very irritating! Glad to enjoyed the chapter, though, hope this last one was just as good. Thanks for the review!

Kurissyma-san Tybalt : Yay for not missing the bus! Here's to you making it once again, hope you weren't forced to run! Thanks for the review!

Bar-Ohki : Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Momiji-k : Glad to know the update came at a good time. It certainly got heated this chapter, it just wasn't the kind of heat most of you were hoping for, probably. Next chapter maybe, we'll just have to wait and see.

Crystal Mage : A battle there must in the FMA world, at least once during the course of the story. Here is my one, so don't expect another anytime soon. And I like what Riza says too, it says something about the self-sacrifice others make for those they love. I don't think I address what the kids thought, yet, so you'll have to wait on that one. I miss Maes too, thought it would be nice to have a little reminder of him. And now you know what the paragraph says. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

blazenXrapture : A little bit of action never goes a miss. Thanks for the wonderful compliment, I like to experiment from time to time and it's nice to know I wasn't far off the mark. Wonderful review, hope to hear from you again!

Bizzy : Yeah, Zeke being concerned about Riza definitely shows how the relationship has progressed. Thanks for the review!

FFVII : Only two weeks, but stuff happens. This update was on time, at least. And please, Roy's a sexy beast, what unmarried lady with a healthy libido wouldn't want to see Roy in his boxers and undershirt? And yeah, there's people in the world who enjoy killing a little too much for their own good. I'm more for the 'bomb them in their sleep' tactic, but whatever floats your boat. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Ruki44 : And it hasn't let up by much. Thanks for the review!

JenovaJuice97 : Welcome to the story, new friend! Glad you enjoyed it thus far. Yes, Havoc being in a wheelchair has to do with the manga. If you want to read it, it can be downloaded for free at www dot narutocommunity dot net . Things I made up are things like Zeke and Beth being there. Most story events come straight from the anime or manga. No the manga is not yet finished, but it is closing towards the end.

That's it for now, folks! Thanks again for your many kind words, and see ya next time! If you're wondering there's about two chapters left, maybe three if things get stretched out.

CB

'Death is just another journey we take on this path of life.'

-Anon


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen, guys, can you believe it? This is it, we're almost at the end.

-0i0-

Roy lay awake for a long time, watching the way the clouds outside floated along in a dull, gray sky. It matched the numbness that gripped inside as he tried to figure out what to do next.

'Knock-Knock'

"Room service!"

The Brigadier General rolled himself out of his bed with a grunt.

"I'm still here," he called back, ruefully brushing his hair back before grabbing the eye patch that lay on the bedside table and putting it on. "Sorry."

"That's alright, sir. Sorry to disturb you."

The shower felt wonderful against his pounding head and aching joints, the previous night's consumption of alcohol making its presence known in several unpleasant ways. Eventually he got out and dried off; pulling on the casual black pants and dark green sweater one of his subordinates had been kind enough to pack for him. Breda, probably, the other men would've given him his usual button down shirts. It was fairly chilly outside today, though, and he welcomed the extra warmth as he slipped on his shoes and headed downstairs.

Snagging a bagel and a little package of cream cheese from the buffet, he made his way to the bar and ordered a black coffee. The man there gave him a short nod and handed over a steaming mug.

"Here to sight see?" he asked as he wiped down the countertop, skirting around Roy's drink and breakfast by a wide margin.

"Not really," Roy muttered into his drink as he tried to lift the morning fog with the ingestion of caffeine. The bagel was dry, and the cream cheese not particularly tasty, but he ate mechanically and likely wouldn't have noticed if someone had swapped it with moldy toast and rancid jam or a fine croissant with butter fresh from the churn.

"Not much else to do around here, sir," the man behind the bar commented. "Unless you have family here, that is."

"No," he replied, giving a wry laugh. "No family, either."

"Hm."

The sound was an odd one, almost understanding and yet slightly derisive at the same time.

"You think you know why I'm here?" Roy asked after several moments of silence, a smirk having crept its way onto the barman's face.

"Why else?" his companion replied quietly. "But for a woman. I'm surprised you're still here, really, Alchemists tend to go and take what they want rather than dither about with it." His eyes wandered to Roy's watch that lay out on the counter, the ornamental cover shinning in the low light.

"That's what we're famous for?" the Brigadier General asked sourly. "That's not a very endearing description."

"No one ever said Alchemists were endearing people," the old man retorted with a snort. "Just that they get the job done, most of the time."

"I see."

"Well, it looks like my shift is over; I hope you manage to decide what you're going to do."

"I never said it was about a woman," Roy said to be contrite as the man took off his apron and hung the cloth on a hook.

"You don't have to," the man replied with that same smirk from before. "It's written all over your face."

The barman exchanged greetings with another fellow wearing a similar uniform as he edged his way from behind the counter. The other fellow smiled with a nod and took charge as the old man left, Roy watching him disappear around a corner with a sigh.

"Do you need anything else, sir?" the new barman asked, a much younger fellow than the one before.

"No," he replied as he pushed the half empty mug away and left some change on the bar top. "I'm fine, thank you." Deciding taking a short walk would be safe, at least to try and sort out his thoughts, Roy settled his still damp hair and left the main building of the hotel.

-0i0-

Quietly, Zeke slipped from the house with Black Hayate on his leash, only an admonishment from Riza to be careful following him on his way out. He had a great deal to think about, and very little time to do it.

Beth was ecstatic. To her, the wait was over, it all was through. Aunt Riza was able and willing to adopt them, and that was all there was to it. She had reached this conclusion halfway through breakfast, leaving the tears and gloom behind with a suddenness that had surprised her companions at the time. Announcing that she had decided, Riza had cautioned the small child not to say anything as of yet, that she needed to speak with Zeke about it as well later on. The moment their guardian was out of earshot, though, she had confided in her brother what her thoughts were and assumed he was joining her in them with no reservation in the least.

He tried to, for her sake, but there was something bothering him in the back of his mind.

There had been stories that had been thrown around over his head since the very beginning, things hinted at of past deeds that those in the military would rarely give a full explanation of. Uncle Roy had once mentioned that he had hurt himself to save those around him. The scars that covered his stomach were proof of that, so when the others teased and joked about how often Riza had saved their superior officer from his foolish or rash decisions Zeke had to wonder how many times she had been hurt to do so in return. This past time she had been shot in the arm, Zeke had actually gotten to see the graze the morning before they left, being called in to help Riza secure the bandage when she was unable to do so herself. The raw and angry flesh was still so foreign that just bringing the image to mind made him a bit nauseous.

And then there was the phrase Uncle Roy had used more than once, though not necessarily to Zeke personally. It had usually been to Havoc or Gracia, when trying to explain something in those hushed tones that they thought the children couldn't hear. That Riza had entrusted him with her back. Zeke knew that Roy had also saved Riza's life, at least once, in the battle with the homunculi, but he was fairly sure that wasn't what that phrase referred to. It seemed, the way it was usually used, to indicate something that had occurred before Riza had been entrusted with Roy's back. A fair trade for a deed done in the past. He didn't think it was Riza's life that had needed protecting; she was not very highly ranked in the military or by family name. Could it have been something that had happened before their time in the military?

What if that meant that Aunt Riza had a debt to pay to Uncle Roy? Was that why she protected his life, to balance things between them from whatever it was that had happened?

It sounded wrong the moment he thought it, and was quickly discarded by the way, but knowing the reason his Aunt protected the Flame Alchemist was suddenly very intriguing.

If the boy had to guess just based upon what he knew, he would say it was for love. Aunt Riza loved him, and didn't want him to die, simple as that. But with adults, he knew it was rarely that simple.

Slowly, as his mind picked apart the layers of what he knew about his guardian, her superior officer, and their friends in the military he came to a startling conclusion. No matter what else, Riza Hawkeye had always believed in Roy Mustang and his cause. Even when her father had first taken him in to teach him the art of alchemy, she had believed in him. Even when she had trusted him with whatever secret it was that they shared, she had believed in him. Even when his orders didn't make sense or were difficult to follow, she had believed in him. Even in times of utter defeat, such as when Roy had run away to the boarder for two entire years, Riza had believed he would return. Any person in the Flame Alchemist's unit could tell you who his greatest supporter was, and who would defend him despite his many faults and flaws to the very end.

What would happen if that belief were removed?

One would have to be blind not to see how much the man depended on the sharpshooter constantly. If she could no longer protect his back…support his cause with everything she had…let him lean on her in return…

And what of the others, the brave men who had followed Roy from the very beginning, and the men and women who followed him now? It wasn't just as unit, it was a family. To remove one of the core members of that family…

_But you don't know if any of this is true. What if Aunt Riza withdraws and everything is fine? Maybe I'm just worrying for nothing…_

Zeke wanted to believe that, he really and truly did. He wanted to believe that if Riza gave up her duty, nothing would change. She would still work as Uncle Roy's aide, still help him reach his goals, just remain behind when the bullets began to fly. It wasn't a dangerous job; it had been more than a year from the time the invaders had attacked to when the anti-Ishaballan insurgents had struck the apartment complexes. But when the danger did come…

Would they be able to stand, with one less supporter?

His arm being jerked brought the boy back to the present, Black Hayate dragging him along until he pounced on a black haired man who looked just as surprised as the boy holding the leash.

"Uncle Roy?" he asked weakly, absently, shoving the happy dog aside. "What…?"

"Uh, I wish I knew," the man replied a tad sheepishly. "I was going to drop by, later today…Zeke…?"

The boy was staring at him with an intensity that had never been present before, his lips pursed as his hold on the leash turned his knuckles white.

"Uncle Roy," he said after several moments of silence. "I have some questions for you."

-0i0-

Beth happily bounced up and down as Riza helped her crack the eggs, the instant cookie dough being something she agreed to bring along in case they had an oven at their disposal. The mixing was a little harder when done by hand, the guardian having to take over a short time while the girl standing in the chair in front of her watched and rubbed her tired arm. Slowly, the dough began to take shape.

The back door opened and closed, Black Hayate giving a happy bark as he sniffed about a bit before settling at the feet of those in the kitchen.

"Zeke?" Riza called, glancing back when she didn't see him right away.

"In here," he replied from the living room. "There's someone here to see you, Aunt Riza, they're waiting outside."

The sharp shooter paused, considering his words before asking hesitantly. "Who is it, Zeke?"

"Beth, can you come with me for a minute?" the boy asked as he came in the kitchen, taking his sister's hand gently. "I need to talk to you." He refused to meet his guardian's gaze, pulling his reluctant sibling along into the bedroom and firmly shutting the door behind himself.

Riza considered staying where she was, hiding in the safety of a kitchen that she was fairly certain their guest wouldn't enter without being first invited. Cowardly would never have been a word she would have once associated with herself, but she was more afraid of what she would find beyond the back door than she was of anything else she had ever encountered in her time with the military.

Black Hayate seemed to whine at her feet, wagging his tail as he edged his way towards the back door.

"Traitor," she murmured, sighing as she slowly made her way towards the door with feet that felt like lead and a stomach that wasn't much better. Turning the knob, she let him exit first, pausing on the threshold as a familiar voice came from her right.

"Riza?"

Disheveled and bearing a few traces of a hang over, Roy Mustang sat upon the bench beside the back door, looking at her with his one eye that seemed to burn right through her.

"Sir," she replied, her body rigid as her mouth went dry, eyes staring straight ahead. "What are you doing here?"

"I still don't know," he admitted with a weak shrug. "Havoc sent me…I thought I was going on a mission…"

"They shouldn't have sent you," Riza said, still refusing to look at him. "And you shouldn't have come here."

"I didn't mean to," he admitted slowly. "Zeke, well, Black Hayate found me. Zeke brought me here."

Her frown deepened as she shook her head. "You didn't have to come with him."

The alchemist gave a dry laugh. "Could you have told him no?"

Riza'a head shot up in indignation. "I'm his guardian."

Roy's reply was firm and steady. "So am I."

"Sir…"

"Roy." When she gave him a strange look, he shrugged. "I'm not in uniform, neither are you. We're discussing the kids, not work, and it should be a private, non-military affair."

"That didn't stop you the other day," she said before she could put her tongue in check. The hurt that flashed across his face scored her to the bone.

"I know," he admitted as he looked at his hands. "I was wrong, so very wrong, in what I said to you, Riza. I was trying to fix something that wasn't mine to fix because something scared me very much." Roy paused, flexing his fingers slowly as he blew out a sigh that left a white cloud in front of his face. "There have always been dangers we were not able to see until they were right in front of us, Riza. I have never doubted your ability to take care of yourself, but I realized something after we dealt with the terrorists. I'm not the only person you have to look after anymore. What happens to Zeke and Beth if something happens to you?"

"Legally, they would become wards of the state," she replied slowly with a helpless shrug. "I can't dictate who would gain guardianship over them next without first adopting them."

"But we can't leave them without knowing who will take care of them next incase something should happen," Roy murmured more to himself than to her. "Life is not a certain thing, even if you do leave the military and adopt them, there is no guarantee that you will always be there for them. We, well, I have made enemies in my time as an Alchemist, and it is no secret that you are one of the most important people in my life."

"So, you still believe I should leave the army as an active member."

There was another long pause, and then, "No, I don't really think you should. I never did. I need you, and so do the others. You're able to support the others when I am not; you are an invaluable member of our team. However…" The time his tone seemed to take on a ring of defeat. "The children should come first."

Nothing but the wind moved for a long time before Riza whispered, "It's cold out here, it will be warmer inside." Turning around, she disappeared through the door that she left open behind her. Taking the indirect invitation, he got up and followed her all the way to the kitchen where she filled the kettle with water and set it to boil. Her black and white dog followed, wagging his tail as he stayed by the Brigadier General's side.

"Tea?" she asked as she pulled mugs from the cabinet.

"Please," he replied, immediately relaxing in the more comfortable environment. He sat at the kitchen table, watching as she put a half-finished bowl of dough in the refrigerator along with other perishable ingredients that had been left out.

"So," she said when the kettle whistled, pouring them both a steaming mug that she dipped a tea bag into.

"So," he repeated as he began the business of fixing his tea with the correct quantities of milk and sugar.

"It's too late to change things," Riza murmured as she drank her own tea straight. "Beth is set on being adopted."

"They need to be," he agreed immediately. "For exactly the reasons I said before. Zeke was asking me a lot of questions, though, about before."

"Before?"

"When we first formed a unit, after I was promoted for my work in the war. Who was in the unit, why I choose certain people…the details were very important to him. He also wanted to know how many times you'd been injured in the line of duty, why I thought you were always my greatest supporter, and what it that you had once entrusted me with."

"He's a very inquisitive boy," she said, obviously delving into her own thoughts.

"I would like to know what you think about those things."

"Hm?"

"Why do you think I choose the people I choose every time we added someone else to our unit?"

"We are the best," she said with a certainty that held no pride, just fact. "Havoc was one of the best the stealth assault squad had. Fuery is a genius with the communications units. Falman has a mind like a library. Fullmetal had incredible talent with his alchemy. Breda's strength and work with explosives is unparalleled. Even our newest members are among the most talented of their kind." 

"What about you?" he asked, keeping his gaze on his tea.

"You choose me," she said steadily as she frowned at the mug in her hands. "Because I knew you best, and would end it if you strayed from your dream of the military working for the betterment of the people."

"That's not the only reason," he said with a small smile.

"Besides the fact that I have yet to be beaten with firearms," she amended dryly.

"That's not what I meant," Roy admitted, looking up as she met his eyes in surprise. Both of his hands crept across the table, coverings hers over her mug and squeezing gently. "Although all of that is true, I also choose you because I couldn't stand the thought of you looking after someone else. Because I would be eternally jealous of the man who you served under. A double standard, I know, you've been putting up with me and my 'flings' with various women from the start. But…I couldn't imagine you at anyone's back but mine."

"I…"

"Aunt Riza, Uncle Roy?" Zeke called, the sound of the bedroom door closing breaking the tension from before.

"In the kitchen," Riza called; her voice unusually high as she cleared her throat. Roy slowly retracted his hands back to his own mug, as though it pained him to do so. "We're both in the kitchen, Zeke."

The children peaked around the corner, solemnly entering the room. Beth climbed immediately into Riza's lap, curling up in the woman's comforting embrace, and Zeke sat in one of the remaining chairs between the two adults.

"We made our decision," the boy said as he fiddled with a pen he was carrying with him nervously. "I was thinking a lot about stuff, and I know this isn't one of the options you gave us, Aunt Riza, but I think it would work."

"I'm sorry Aunt Riza!" the little girl broke in as she began to cry. "Please let us stay with you; I don't ever wanna leave your house even if Uncle Roy is really nice!"

"Zeke, what's going on?" Roy asked, looking very confused and a little concerned.

"I called Uncle Havoc," the young one explained quickly. "He checked a couple of things for me. Wasn't too happy, I think I interrupted something, but this is what he told me. Women can't adopt kids and still be on active duty, but men can."

"Zeke, Roy can't adopt you when I'm your guardian," Riza said quietly as she hugged the small, shaking body in her lap. "He's not even related to you…"

"Yeah," Zeke agreed as he pulled out a piece of paper. "But that doesn't actually matter as long as you sign us over to him."

"You can't come live with me," Roy said, completely flabbergasted as he tried to process everything that was being thrown at him. "I hardly have room for me, let alone two others…"

"We don't have to move in with you," Zeke explained, beginning to look a bit frustrated. "Look. Once you sign us over, Uncle Roy would adopt us, and then he can name any guardian he chooses to look after us, and there can be more than one. One would be you, Aunt Riza, so we can still live with you and all and we would technically be adopted it, like Beth wants. There's only one thing…"

"I can't think of anything that could go remotely wrong with that," Roy admitted, feeling rather amazed at what the boy had done. "Everything would be covered…what is it, Zeke?"

"I think…" The boy hesitated, pushing bangs that needed to be trimmed out of his eyes. "I think this is the easiest way to say it. Uncle Roy, if you ever wanted to get married, if you married someone who was listed as a guardian they would automatically have to adopt us as well. Which would mean the adoption laws would then apply to them as well."

There was a long silence after that.

"Beth," Riza said softly after awhile. "Why are you still crying?"

"I don't want you to not like us 'cause we want someone else to adopt us," the little girl sniffled as she rubbed a fist over her eyes. "I love you, Aunt Riza, but Zeke said we can't be selfish and keep you to ourselves. This way everybody gets what they want, so please don't be mad at us, Aunt Riza, please don't hate us!"

"Hate you?" Strong, but gentle hands lifted the tear stained face until both sets of red-brown eyes met. "Beth, I could never, ever hate you. You are so dear to me…" Roy was surprised to see a tear run down the battle-hardened Lt. Colonel's face. "Zeke…?" The boy willingly came to her, and both children were held close as the tears continued to fall. "Thank you, thank you Zeke."

"Couldn't take you away from your job, someone's gotta watch Uncle Roy," he muttered as he tried to blink back the wetness that threatened to overwhelm his own eyes. "And you're pretty important to all of us…"

Riza closed her eyes and savored the feel of the two of them holding her tightly; starting a bit in surprise when a third pair of arms enveloped them all from behind. A familiar, reassuring smell of fresh ash and something else filled her nose as a warm breath tickled beneath her ear.

"You're both very special to me too," Roy said, looking at the children as they met his clear gaze. "And I would be honored to adopt you both."

"Why are you crying?" Beth asked as she touched the damp that streamed down Riza's face. "Are you're you happy?"

"I am happy, so very, very happy," Riza replied in a half-whisper. "That's why I'm crying."

"We'll be a family forever, right?"

Roy was the one who nodded this time, discreetly pressing a tissue into one of Riza's hands. "Forever."

"It might take awhile to get things to go through," Riza commented as she wiped her eyes slowly. "It always takes a long time."

"Uncle Havoc said he has a friend of a friend who might be able to call a favor in for us," Zeke added as he backed up a bit to give himself some room. "To make it go faster. Could we ask him?"

"We can," Roy agreed as Riza nodded slightly. "I think that might be a good idea."

Zeke was the first one to remember the dough in the fridge, but it didn't take long to remind the others of the very tasty treat that was just waiting to be made. Beth and Riza agreed to finish the cookies while the 'men' of their family went out to find dinner. It didn't take long, and by the time Zeke and Roy had returned with their boxes of take-out the small cabin had filled with the delicious scent of chocolate chip cookies.

Roy inquired as to where the mixing bowl was, and after Riza presented it to him both he and Zeke sat at the kitchen table and scraped what bits of dough off the edges they could. They felt very proud of themselves for that until they saw the spoonfuls of dough Beth and Riza had set aside for themselves and were nibbling on while watching the boys work for their few bits.

Zeke, of course, got half of Beth's when he asked for some, but Roy snuck Riza's spoonful out from under her while she was getting plates and cups out for dinner. When she found most of it missing, he had smiled guiltily with a shrug when glared at. Pushing it towards him, she told him just to finish it off, and he had refused saying he didn't want to ruin his appetite. She should finish it; she had made the cookies after all.

Roy thoroughly enjoyed watching her squirm as she licked off the last bit of dough, Beth and Zeke too busy with the task of sliding the first batch off the sheet and onto the cooling racks. Neither one of them helped, though, when they asked a few minutes later why Riza was so red in the face.

"It's just too warm by the oven," she said with a wry smile. "I'm fine."

Dinner was a bright affair, all of them laughing at Zeke's attempts to use the chopsticks that came with his noodle bowl, and Black Hayate receiving more scraps under the table than usual as the children took advantage of their guardian's distraction to rid themselves of the vegetables they didn't like.

Eventually, it grew dark, the majority of the cookies consumed and Zeke soundly cursing his inability to draw cards that would help him as Riza once more told him to go fish. Roy hid his smile behind his own cards while Beth picked up the last ace and announced she was done.

The small girl was then shooed off to take her bath, Riza washing her hair as always and Zeke immediately claiming it second. Roy, who had moved his things over after Zeke said he didn't mind sharing the sofa sleeper with him, got it third while Riza helped Zeke set up his bed and cleaned up the kitchen from dinner. It was rather late by the time Riza had showered and changed, coming out into the hallway to find the door to her bedroom already closed. Trying the handle, it wouldn't budge, and after giving it a few firm turns noticed the note taped to the knob.

_Me, Beth and Black Hayate want the bedroom tonight. Hope you don't mind. Thanks._

_Zeke_

She had been locked out. Riza wandered out to the main room numbly, wondering what she was going to say, when Roy spotted her from his place on the fold-out bed. He was in his pajamas as well, with the blanket pulled up to his waist and a notebook in hand that he was writing in.

"Where's Zeke?" he asked as she got a drink of water from the kitchen. "He said he needed something from the bedroom when you first got in the shower."

"He locked me out of the bedroom," the Lt. Colonel replied with a faint flush. "Roy…"

"I can go back to my room," he said hurriedly as he put his notebook down and grabbed the pants folded neatly on the chair next to him. "It's not a big deal, I'll just leave my stuff here for tomorrow…" Checking his pockets, the Flame Alchemist came up with empty hands and suddenly gave a soft curse. "That boy…!"

"He offered to turn your key in for you, didn't he?" Riza asked as she ran a hand over her face. "I can't believe it…"

"I can still go over there, get another room maybe. It's not the height of their tourist season; they probably have a few rooms still open…" Riza agreed and helped him gather his things together before letting him out the front door.

Five minutes later she let him back in, cursing the mountain climbing convention that had come to town that very day and taken over most of the resort and every single room available.

"I'll sleep on the floor," he said as he began to strip the top blanket from the bed. "Won't be any worse that those cots they call beds back in the dormitories."

"That's silly," she said practically as she got into the bed on one side, refusing to meet his gaze as her face seemed to be permanently tinged pink. "Just…get in the bed, Roy, alright?"

"Are you sure?"

"We're both adults, it's not like…it's not fair for you to sleep on the floor when there's room for you."

Carefully, the Brigadier General obeyed, laying down just a foot and a half away as he turned switched off the lamp and the dark settled over the room like a soft blanket for the night.

Neither one moved.

Or even breathed.

One gave a small sigh.

The other shifted just a tad.

One hour.

Two hours.

One had finally rolled on his back.

The other was still facing the other way.

Neither moved.

They were breathing, at least, but barely.

"Riza?"

The whispered name was spoken, almost half-afraid the other might hear it.

The darkness seemed to debate whether or not to respond.

"Yes?"

"Please."

It wasn't a command.

Neither was it a plead.

There wasn't a verbal reply, but one wasn't needed as both gravitated towards the center and Roy held the woman closest to his heart as close as he possibly could.

"I've missed you," he sighed as he felt her relax into his embrace, kissing behind her ear tenderly.

"I've missed you too." Her lips pressed against the palm of his hand.

And both slept.

-0i0-

Zeke was awake at the crack of dawn. He hadn't heard anything last night, so he wondered if his plan had worked. There was no way to get Roy into the bedroom and keep him there, Riza would have simply expelled him from the room and carried Beth in with her. Besides, he wasn't sure he was quite comfortable with the idea of them sleeping in a room that can have a locked door quite yet.

Peeking out of the room, he was accompanied by Black Hayate who whined in his throat and headed for the back door. Creeping as quietly as he could, the boy followed and tiptoed past the bed where two sleeping masses cuddled close in the center. As far as he could tell both were clothed, but as he turned around and let the dog out he suddenly felt a prickling between his shoulder blades.

Three seconds later, he was flying towards a surprisingly empty foldaway bed.

"AH!!"

"Next time," Riza said as she pinned him face down on the bed, his face digging into the pillows while one of his arms flailed about uselessly. "No tricks, alright? We're big kids; we can take care of ourselves."

"Just trying to help things along," he grumbled as he was let up. "You guys are like nervous cats around each other half the time."

"Hey, just because it might take us awhile doesn't mean we'll never get there on our own," Roy said as he clapped the boy on the shoulder, Riza leaving to start breakfast in the kitchen. "Though," the older man murmured as he bent closer to the boy's ear. "You can't tell Riza this, but thanks."

"Any time," Zeke said with a smirk.

The day was spent together visiting the local sights they hadn't gone to the first time, and the boy watched his guardians as he reveled in the sense of completeness that had come from the night before. Both were a great deal more likely to touch the children than each other still, but sometimes Roy would put his hand on Riza's back as they wound their way through the crowds. Or she in return would put a hand on his arm as they paused to see the historical or natural sights.

Later that night, when Zeke slipped in with Beth again to sleep in the bedroom, neither adult said anything and when the children woke early joined the adults on the fold away bed for a short while before demanding to be fed. It was more Zeke demanding to be fed than Beth; she loved cuddling into Riza's side with her brother next to her and Roy's arm encircling them all from behind. But the boy was growing again, and the need for food seemed to become a constant in his life.

The car ride home was interesting, Riza and Roy sitting up front while the kids climbed in the back with the dog. The luggage was put in the trunk or set on the floor in the back, and for the most part the kids slept the entire way back. Zeke woke once to find Riza nodding off onto Uncle Roy's shoulder. The Brigadier General had given him a wink in the rear view mirror, and the boy had smiled back in return. That is until Roy had to swerve to miss oncoming traffic. That was when Zeke learned never to distract the man while he drove, and Riza didn't sleep at all after that.

That night, back at the house and fully set to get back into things the next day, Zeke watched through a crack in his bedroom door as Roy left for the night using the car one of the men had left in the driveway earlier that day.

"Goodnight," Roy whispered as he held her close.

"Goodnight," she replied as their lips drew near. The kiss didn't last long, but it didn't need to. "I do love you, Roy."

"I love you too," he breathed as he leaned his forehead against hers. "See you in the morning?"

"You know we can't do this at work, right?"

"I know," he replied softly, running a hand through her hair. It hadn't been up for the last two days, he seemed to prefer it that way. "But the fact that I can do it at all, that will be enough for me. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Zeke smiled to himself as he gently shut the door. Finally.

-0i0-

Gracia looked a little worried as Riza appeared with Beth and Zeke in tow the next morning, dropping them both off as usual.

"Is everything alright?" the other mother asked as Zeke sat down to eat with Elysia and Beth fell back asleep on the couch.

"It is now," Riza replied with a smile Gracia hadn't seen in a long time. She wasn't given a chance to ask further questions, though, as the sharpshooter was already saying goodbye as she headed out the door.

Ross was surprised when Riza showed up to spar, though she eagerly put her body to the test when she realized the Lt. Colonel was practicing with a focus she had lacked for the past few weeks. Asking how the trip when, she was given a general, though pleased response as they moved on to the office.

Havoc was waiting for them with a file folder in hand, the Brigadier General seated there as well with a happy look in his face.

"This is the paperwork," the Lieutenant said as he handed it over. "He's already signed it, so have I as a witness. Your court hearing is in two weeks, on a Friday morning."

Riza Hawkeye opened the file, signed on the dotted lines and handed it back without saying a word. She bade them all a good morning and headed for her desk in the next room.

Havoc and Ross shared a glance, but neither said a word as the Brigadier General took the file and left the room with a smile.

The week went by, and nothing was said at the office about what had happened the weekend before. The work was caught up, everything ran smoothly in the office, and no one had any reason to complain. Roy went to have dinner with Riza and her charges every night, and Winry came over to visit once as it was her two weeks in be in town. It wasn't until Friday that the entire crew came together and saw the change that had come over the small family.

The children were happier that they had been in a long time; Beth's beaming face might have been able to light the room. Riza was back in her element of cooking and keeping an eye on everyone, including the Brigadier General, with a slightly brighter smile than before. Roy couldn't have been more pleased, he looked like the cat that got in the cream and occasionally his eyes would stray to a certain blonde hawk across the room as she went about her business.

No one actually saw the Brigadier General leave that night with everyone else, but there were no extra cars in the driveway when they left. No one remembered that he'd ridden along with Falman, and if Riza's table the next morning had an extra guest Beth and Zeke didn't say a word.

The next week came, and one night Roy wasn't able to come over due to a meeting with the upper brass. He showed up later, to help with homework and tuck the kids in bed (and of course to get his goodnight kisses) but if he glossed over what had taken so long with a shrug Riza didn't seem to mind.

Zeke didn't watch his guardians say goodnight anymore. It wasn't like they were doing anything that shouldn't be done, but he had a feeling spit swapping wasn't something he'd find attractive for at least a couple more years. Havoc kept teasing him about what girls he liked at school, so he knew it would come eventually, just not quite yet.

Friday came, and with it the absence of the two most superior officers in Mustang's unit until the lunch break came around. Roy strode in wearing a very nice suit, and a few minutes later Riza followed in her immaculate dress uniform. An explanation wasn't given, but both quickly finished what was on their desks and left early to prepare for the gathering at Riza's house later that evening. Havoc and Ross picked up Fuery, who was finally out of the hospital but still on leave for at least another week before he would be let back into the office.

The food was excellent as always, but the two bottles of wine sitting out on the sideboard was a surprising addition. When dessert was done, Roy called for the bottles to be opened and said he had something to share with everyone.

The congregation fell silent, instinctively knowing they were about to hear whatever it was that had changed these two weeks past.

"This is probably going to surprise some of you, but you're going to have to trust me that this is for the best," he said as he accepted a glass of wine from Gracia as the woman continued to pass them around. "Today, the court awarded me the permanent guardianship of Beth and Zeke as their adopted father. As their new father, I named Riza as their main guardian and the one who the permanent guardianship will pass to should something happen to me."

"Why didn't Riza just adopt them?" Breda asked, stating that which everyone wanted to know.

"Chapter V of the Military Articles, subheading C, paragraph 4, dealing with the rights of women in the military. No mother or adopted mother is allowed to be on active duty, because of the ramifications of their death in their children's lives until said children are more than eighteen years of age," Fuery quoted in surprise from what the Brigadier General had asked him before. "That's why you wanted to know!"

"Aunt Riza can't quit protecting Uncle Roy," Zeke stuck in. "He'd probably end up dead in a week."

"Anyways," Roy went on as everyone laughed at that. "We couldn't have gotten it through so fast without help from Havoc and his many connections, so thank you Havoc. And, I know this hasn't been the easiest last couple of months for us, so thanks to the rest of you for sticking with us. Cheers."

The rest raised their glasses with him and drank (the children all holding cups of grape juice) and afterwards Havoc let out a small laugh.

"Anything else you've got to tell us sir?" he asked with a meaningful glance in the Lt. Colonel's direction.

"No, that's it," Roy replied with a smile. "Please enjoy the wine; I'd rather not have to drink the rest of it by myself later tonight, and thank you all once more for your incredible commitment to this group. We are the envy of the military, not for our decorations or many achievements, but because we have something the rest of them will never have. A family."

Havoc seemed rather disappointed by that, and tried on more than one occasion to suggest that there had to be something more that hadn't been shared yet. Of course, he got nothing for his efforts at all, and Ross teased him on the way out the door that maybe he was really looking into nothing.

"Hey," Havoc said halfway to his apartment, Maria being kind enough to drive him home. "Who did Roy ride in with tonight?"

"Falman," Ross replied absently as she watched the road. "So he could help pickup Fuery."

"Fuery and Falman left early," Havoc said as he tapped his fingers against his knee. "Who else drove?"

"Breda," she replied as she went through the list in her head. "Marshall and Brosh came with him. And Kants, Winry went with him."

"Breda left before we did," he said as he tried to put all the pieces together. "And Kants lives in the opposite direction of Roy. I knew there was something they weren't telling us!"

"He stayed over last weekend," Ross said in surprise. "You mean you didn't notice?"

"What? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't realize you didn't know."

"I was distracted…"

Ross laughed as Havoc flushed bright red.

"You're sweet," she said as she pecked the chair-ridden man on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You're sure you don't have a hidden attraction for the General?" he asked for what was probably the hundredth time.

"Yes, I'm sure," she replied, sounding a bit annoyed. "Why do you keep asking that?"

"Habit. You have no idea how many women that man has stolen from me, and I'd like to keep you around for a long time…"

-0i0-

Riza lay content as Roy ran a lazy hand over her bare shoulders, tracing the inked lines there from memory.

"Are you awake?" he asked as nuzzled her gently.

"Yes," she replied groggily as she turned her head to look at him through lidded eyes. "You can't possibly want to go again…"

"I want to, but that doesn't mean I can," he replied, smiling against her skin. "I have something for you."

"Hm?"

He reached over on the nightstand, picking up his dog tags and unhooking the chain for a moment. Pulling off something that twinkled in the moonlight that shone through the shade, she became fully awake when he took her left hand and slid the solid metal object up her fourth finger.

"Roy, I can't…"

"Not for about twelve years, no," he agreed with a sigh. "But someday, I promise you, I will marry you. Consider it an extra-long engagement."

"I know this ring," she whispered as she inspected the plain gold band carefully. "Did you-?"

"I asked your Grandfather if it was alright, and he gave me this to give to you," he replied with a smile. "He approves, I think."

"He would be," Riza snorted. "I'm surprised he didn't demand an immediate ceremony."

"He did suggest going around regulation and having a private ceremony that wouldn't be recorded. I thought it might be a little suspicious if I went ahead and moved in with you, though, so no go on that."

"I still haven't said yes," she pointed out, giving him a dry look.

"You don't have to," he replied. "At least not for the next twelve years. Until then, you keep the ring."

"Twelve years is a long time," she pointed out as she slipped the ring on her own dog tags, leaving it beside the bed. "Are you sure I won't change my mind?"

"No," he admitted with a low chuckle. "But I have twelve years to give you every reason not to. Starting right now…" Working his way down her neck, inwardly he glowed as she began to go limp in his arms.

"Again?!" she asked in mild disbelief.

"Maybe," he replied with the Mustang-trademark smirk.

-0i0-

And that is chapter 15. Yes, there is one more chapter after this. Hopefully it'll be ready by next weekend. Hope you guys enjoyed it, thanks for the many reviews and kind words. The replies are just below this as always, please review again, it totally makes my day!

Crystal Mage : Gotta love being away for awhile and finding a nice collection of your favorite things awaiting your return. It's like a miniature Christmas. I think this should be enough Roy and Riza interaction, eh? And I know the temptation to stay up and read more than you should, it is one I face often myself. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

The winter of midnight : Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Humor Queen Merc : I think that talk was pretty serious, hm? Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Crazycheezieness : Lucky me indeed. And now, not only has Roy come after her, but has managed to win her heart once again. Thanks for the review!

Dennisud : New information definitely turned things up a notch. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Causmicfire : It always gets worse before it gets better. And if I could find a Havoc, sans the smoking, I'd be keeping him for myself. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

FFVII : Thanks for the many, many compliments. Yeah, Roy was certainly in a very tough spot. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

SakuraAyanami : If it wouldn't get somebody killed, I would say locking them up is the perfect solution to all their problems. Thanks for the review!

BlaznXrapture : Glad you enjoying it so much, and thanks for the many wonderful compliments. Gotta love how Zeke has developed, he's definitely one of my favorite to write. Thanks for the review!

Bizzy : Aww, I hope you don't almost hate me anymore. I hope this chapter made you happy and all kinds of good stuff. No more stomach aches now, the story is no longer sad! Thanks for the review!

Dailenna : If everybody didn't take care of their commanding officers, there would be more than a big mess. There wouldn't be a unit anymore, because it would've dissolved after Roy left before the movie. And then there wouldn't be this story, which would be very, very sad. Thank you so much for the review, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

WingedChunsa : I'm pretty addicted to it too, I have no idea what I'm gonna do after I post the epilogue next weekend. sighs Oh well. Don't worry about missing a review, I'm late posting chapters all the time. Consider it fair payback. Thanks for the review!

Jennlyn78 : Hey, it's the only cliff hanger you've had, and it really wasn't that bad. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

GreyBlue Angel : Don't worry about the Potter hints, I've read it now and enjoyed every second of it. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Kurissyma san Tybalt : Hey, I'd say they found a nice little loophole this time, hm? Hopefully you won't miss a bus to read this chapter, it is rather late. And I don't know what's up with I've been getting my reviews and chapter updates late, too. Oh well, thanks for the review!

-Kai Isolated- : All is forgiven, I now mourn with you as I've finished the book. So good, and yet so sad. And there is only an epilogue after this, so this is definitely the end. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy25 : Yeah, been acting weird for awhile. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

SxL : Thanks for the many wonderful compliments, and Roy definitely went for it this time. Thanks for the review!

Rizalicious : I don't plan on moving again very soon. Thanks for the review!

JenovaJuice97 : Yeah, it was pretty sad and depressing, but we're all happy now! Thanks for the review!

OTP : Yeah, definitely a tough spot to be in. Thanks for the review!

Momiji-k : Eh, typos happen, sorry! Yeah, Roy is pretty sexy, no matter what. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed it!

Bar-Ohki : Hm, not so much, sorry! Good guess, though, and thanks for the review!

Jacksparrow589 : Hope the babysitting went ok, and thanks for the great review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

That's it for this chapter guys, sorry the replies weren't as long as usual, I wanted to get this chapter out to you as soon as possible and my weekend was very full. Sorry for the wait, epilogue will be up next weekend hopefully at the usual time. Please review, it would totally make my day!

CB

'Your success as a teacher is not measured by the grades your students make, but by the way you shape their lives after they have left your classroom.'

-Unknown


	16. Chapter 16

This is the end guys, chapter 16. Thank you so much to those of you who've been with me since the beginning, faithfully reviewing most, if not all of the chapters. To those of you who joined on later, your support was greatly appreciated as well. I will not be writing any more FMA fan fiction of any sort after this, so please don't ask.

For the last time, I don't own FMA, or anything related to it. Beth, Zeke, and anything else not from the series or manga is probably mine, so ask before you use. That's an order!

-0i0-

_Twelve years later_

The chapel was small, and unaccustomed to having so many people inside. It was late evening, and almost everybody present was wearing a nice suit or pressed dress. With the area fairly warmer than most preferred it, several of the men had taken to unbuttoning the top of their collars, despite the reproving looks the women were giving them.

Roy's eyes were transfixed on the back doors as they opened, letting Beth through the doors first as the 19 year old young woman began her walk down the isle. Having graduated from the academy only a few weeks before, she was resplendent in a light blue summer dress and with golden hair exactly like her guardian's. But no one could have outshined the one who followed.

The white dress was simply cut, revealing nothing and yet in its modesty making the wearer appear all the more desirable. Zeke escorted her down the isle, now 22 years old and every inch a man. He was the only one in the military blue, an investigator alchemist that was heading in the right direction for a promotion very soon, and looked very handsome in his dress uniform. Taller than his guardian by at least head, he beamed with pleasure when he handed Riza over to his Uncle Roy and stepped off to the side.

The ceremony itself wasn't long, the vows were simply said and the rings exchanged with a minimal amount of fuss. Nobody's eyes were quite dry when the final 'I do' was spoken, but the cheer that went up when the chaplain told Roy he could kiss his bride shook the rafters of the small building. Proudly escorting his new wife out of the chapel, Roy helped her into the car and drove to the train station while the others followed.

"You'll be careful?" Riza asked several minutes later, now dressed in a traveling suit, as the children prepared to leave with the rest of the military unit for the beach trip without her or Roy for the first time ever.

"We'll be fine," Zeke reassured her in exasperation as he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, the large appendage easily dwarfing the one she laid over it. "We're not kids anymore, Aunt Riza."

"I still worry," she said with a sigh as she let him kiss her on the cheek. "Have a good time; we'll see you in a week."

"Have fun," Beth told her as the young woman gave her a tight hug. "And thank you for waiting for so long for us."

"It wasn't too hard," Roy chuckled as he draped himself over his new wife's shoulders from behind. "You two spoiled us, a lot, being as good as you are. We're very proud of you both, growing up as you have."

"We just wanted to say congratulations," Gracia said as her and Elysia appeared behind them. "And that we just got the call from Risembol. It's a boy, and Winry is fine."

"How's Kants taking it?" Roy asked with a grin.

"He's very happy, you know he loves his three little girls but he's been wanting a boy for awhile now."

"What did they name him?"

"Edward Alphonse Kants."

"Good, we'll have to go visit them some time. Have a good trip, and we'll see you in a week."

"In a week," Beth replied firmly, almost like she was making a promise. After another round hugs and goodbyes the four left, Zeke slipping his arms casually around his sister's and friend's shoulders, and another couple approached.

"Congratulations, sir, and have a good trip," Havoc said as he shook his superior officer's hand firmly, Maria hugging Riza as he did. "We're very happy, for both you."

"Now you've just gotta work up the nerve to do the same," Roy murmured to the chair-bound man, glancing in Ross's direction meaningfully.

"We're quite happy the way things are now, thank you," Havoc laughed quietly. "But…we'll see. Maybe someday."

"Have fun, and be safe," Maria said as she turned to push Havoc back towards their train. "We'll see you soon."

"Of course."

"Sir?" The newlyweds turned around to find Breda and Fuery behind them, the communications officer holding an envelope out to them. "We'd like to you have this, sir. We took a collection in the office, so you guys could have a nice night on the town on us."

"Falman had to leave, his kid's sick, but he wanted us to congratulate you for him," Breda added with a grin. "Brosh and Marshall too, since they're helping load all of our luggage. Have a safe trip, sir."

"You too," Roy said as he shook both their hands. "And thank you, we really appreciate this."

"Least we could do, sir."

The conductor yelled for the final call and the couple boarded the train together, waving to their friends and family through the window as the large locomotive began to pull out of the station.

"So," Roy said as he fingered the ring on her left hand, the same one she had worn with her dog tags for the last twelve years waiting for their time to come. "Was it worth the wait?"

Riza looked up and smiled, kissing him gently as she settled into his warm embrace. "Every minute of it."

Roy still wasn't particularly fond of trains. The seats were only comfortable when compared with something like the floor unless one could afford the coveted private suites and the food was cheap, tasting like sawdust, or incredibly overpriced and of mediocre quality. The list could go on forever.

But sitting there with his new wife as the sun set and they were sped off towards their honeymoon cabin for a week of wonderful solitude, there was absolutely no other place he would rather be.

The End

-0i0-

A rather short epilogue, yes? I think I got in there what I wanted to, everything else wasn't that important, in my mind at least. Thank you, again, for your many months of support and wonderful reviews. All final review replies are at the bottom, thank you once again, and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have.

Phoenixofpride : I'm sorry, you reviewed last time right as I updated, so I missed your review. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks a million for the review!

Missysivillan : Thanks for your kind words, any such reviews are welcome even this late in the game. Sorry you couldn't be with us from the beginning, but I hope you enjoyed the story and that the epilogue was found to be most satisfactory.

Momiji-k : That's right, this chapter is twelve years later, I hope it meets all of your expectations and more. And a late review is just as good as the ones that come before. Thank you so much for consistently reviewing the chapters, I would see you name and know I was in for a treat! Your support has not gone unnoticed, thank you for being the kind of reviewer that most authors dream of having.

FFVII : Glad you enjoying, Royai fangirling mode and all. And dog tags are what military people call the metal tags they wear around their necks to identify their bodies in case something happens to them. It's usually returned to the family after a person has died. Roy could carry the ring around his neck, under his clothes, and Riza wouldn't notice until he took it off to give it to her. Thanks for your many, many reviews, I've enjoyed reading them from the very beginning.

OTP : A week between updates, like usual. Thanks for your wonderful support from the start, I really appreciated it. Hoe you enjoyed the epilogue!

SxL : Aww, thank you! Glad this story pleased you so much. It's been a pleasure reading your reviews, thank you for your wonderful support. Hope you enjoyed the epilogue!

The writer of the midnight : A thousand welcomes in return. Glad I could please, thanks for the wonderful review.

blaznXrapture : I can understand having a lot of work, I'm just glad you found time to read it period. I enjoy the subtleties myself, glad they were not lost on you as well. Thank you, for your wonderful compliment. I don't think I'll ever be as big as J.K. Rowling, but one can always dream. And yes, the seventh HP book was everything I could have hoped for, and I never saw Transformers so I can't really say anything there. Thanks for your many great reviews, it's been a pleasure reading your comments.

Bar-Ohki : I thought so. J Thanks for the many reviews, I have truly appreciated them.

Ruki44 : Yep, they're together! Thanks for the many reviews, I have truly appreciated them.

GreyBlue Angel : We all have to do fangirl squeals at times, don't worry about it. I'm glad you enjoyed it a lot, fangirling and all. And let me say I've enjoyed your comments for quite some time, thank you for being a wonderful reviewer for my fic! Hope you enjoy the epilogue!

MoonStarDuchess : Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Cheeseycraziness : I have no idea what happened to your name last time. I am so, so sorry. You have no idea how embarrassed I am. I plead tiredness, so please forgive me! I'm glad you enjoyed it regardless, thank you for being a faithful reviewer for many of the chapters. I truly appreciated it.

Causmicfire : Fine, fine, you can have Fuery. And bartenders seem to have interesting lives, they hear the strangest stories all the time. Yeah, that's probably where Zeke ended up, I don't think I specified though. And yay, Roy confronts his feelings! Good for him! As for what Zeke interrupted, I shall leave that to your imagination… I tried to keep Roy and Riza in character before letting things come to a head. Of course Havoc didn't notice the first time, he was 'distracted'. I hope you enjoyed the last installment. Thank you for being a wonderful reviewer, I've enjoyed reading what you leave me every time I post a chapter. Keep it up!

JenovaJuice97 : Yes, they got married, but there will be no sequel. This is a stand alone piece, no other connecting ones to it. Sorry! Hoe you enjoyed it, though, and thanks for the review!

Riza Hawkeye 9 : I try. Thanks for the high praise, I only strive to do the best that I can for the readers. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the last chapter!

Aindel S. Druida : I aim to please! It is kinda bitter sweet, that now it's over and all. But I think it was worth it, in the end. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoy the last chapter!

Garretignasia : I'm glad you're enjoying it. Missing chapters happens, I'm just glad you got caught up. Hope the last installment is satisfactory, and thanks for the review!

-Kai Isolated- : Yeah, me too. I can see why it fit well in the story, but it's still sad. I'm sorry I couldn't get this up before Friday, but I purposely update on days that I have time to. I still hope you can read the short update before long, and good luck on your medical studies! Thanks for the wonderful reviews, and I hope you enjoy the final installment.

Jennlyn78 : Thanks for your reviews, I have most enjoyed them. Glad you enjoyed it, and hope you like the last part just as much.

Anne Packrat : Nope, no children. Riza's pretty old by the time twelve years have passed, and she would have to give up her position protecting Roy if she ever did. And whether Zeke and Elysia ever hook up, well, that's for you guys to decide. Thanks for the awesome reviews, I hope you enjoy this last chapter!

Winged Chunsa : I still like your name. Zeke is a smart kid, alright. And it works out because of it, so good for him! Twelve years is a long engagement, but think of it as they really are living as married people for most of that, they just happen not to be official until Zeke and Beth are old enough. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for your many awesome reviews, I've truly enjoyed them.

Kasumiryumizu : Yeah, there are no little Roy's or Riza's running around in this story, sorry guys! But you're right, they have Beth and Zeke, and those two are all the children they could ever want. And Black Hayate, he's Riza's original baby. Thanks for the review!

Winglessfairy25 : Reading an update before you study for exams? I do that too…hope your exams went well, though! Yeah, it is a long engagement, but when it's worth it it's worth it. It is sad that the end has come, but it's a good ending, and therefore bearable. Thanks for your many wonderful reviews, I have enjoyed them greatly.

Dailenna : I tried to do something no one else was expecting. Making them wait seemed the most unlikely course of all, and letting Zeke figure it all out makes it all the better. Thanks for your many wonderful reviews, I really have enjoyed them, especially the way you pull out details that others gloss over. Don't ever stop that, it makes the author feel that they did better than 'ok' at the end of it all. I hope you enjoy the last chapter, and thanks for the review!

Crystal Mage : Aww, a glomp for Zeke! That's a lot better than all the smacks he was getting at the beginning. Yeah, no more angst, we've really had too much of it. Hope you enjoyed the epilogue, and thanks for your many wonderful words and compliments. It meant a lot to me. J

Rizalicious : Yep, fluff time! And here's more, hope you enjoy it, thanks for the review!

Humor Queen Merc : Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your many words of praise, you are truly a faithful reviewer and I have enjoyed having your input on my fic. Hope you enjoyed the final chapter!

Jacksparrow589 : Um…I love you too…? From tears to laughter, eh? Then I must've done something right! And exactly right, she already said yes, she just had to wait for him to catch up with her. Thanks for the many wonderful compliments, I've truly enjoying having you as a reviewer. Thanks for being such a wonderful support, and I hoe you enjoy the last chapter!

Well my friends, this is the end. Please don't forget to review one last time, I like not to leave loose ends lying around. And thank you so much for being with me for these last five months or so. I've appreciated it more than you can possibly imagine.

Farewell, for now,

CB


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